


Behind Broken Masks

by OppaiShiri



Category: Naruto
Genre: AU, Action/Adventure, Akatsuki Uzumaki Naruto, Alternate Universe, Body Image, Confusion, Crazy, Crows, Death, Gen, Identity Swap, Itachi is Naruto, Mangekyou Sharingan, Masks, Naruto is Itachi, Secret Identity, Self-Discovery, Self-Reflection, Serious Crack, Shounen, Shounen Fights, Switching, Uchiha Sasuke & Uzumaki Naruto Friendship, follows canon kind of not really, going off of the manga for this one, i'd say this is after the fight with gaara, so this goes waaaaay back
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-24
Updated: 2019-03-02
Packaged: 2019-04-07 13:00:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 5
Words: 20,904
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14081469
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OppaiShiri/pseuds/OppaiShiri
Summary: An "emotionless" man masquerades as the number one knuckle headed ninja. What could go wrong?AND/ORWhat happens when Itachi of the Akatsuki switches bodies with Naruto Uzumaki, the future hokage?Status: CURRENTLY ON HIATUS





	1. 1. Behind the Emotionless Mask

**Author's Note:**

> Currently on Hiatus - will be back sometime March 20th 2019. Sorry I keep delaying-has been busy these past few months
> 
> Note - I'm currently rewriting the first chapter. Right now it needs to be edited and revised so I will get rid of any errors

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Currently a work in progress and is being edited/revised. Please be patient as I write. Thank you :)

**_1\. Prologue (work in progress)_ **

* * *

' _Damn! I'm running out of time_!' thought Yugito as she was limping through the underground dark dungeons. She had no clue where she was going exactly,but she knew this much; the sooner she got out of here, the better. 

' _How did they find me so soon! I was so sure I hid so well_.' She thought. Yugito was sweating as she was running for her life like never before.

The kunoichi had a hand on her bloodied stomach - the one that was stabbed- leaving behind a trail of blood drip-drops on the floor. It was only a matter of time before they caught up to her soon. They had already gotten her once...she couldn't afford for that to happen again. She winced as she continued running at a slow pace - and it was slowing by the minute. 

' _I have to make it! Before they_ -'

Before she could even react, there was a movement of speed and a kunai flew past her shoulder, ripping her shirt slightly in the process. Her eyes widened in horror.

' _What the_ \- !' 

"Looks like you're cornered, little girl."

She chanced a look behind her and immediately regretted it when she did. Yugito saw the outline of the figures pursuing her. There was a light behind them in the darkness and if she squinted, she could make out their faces from here.

"I suggest you surrender now while you still can or you'll be missing some...limbs of yours there." said one of the men. 

"Like I'm going to let that happen!" promised Yugito. 

But in truth, she really was fearful for her life. If they took the cat tailed beast out of her, she would die. There was no escape. When she backed away, her feet met the wall. She was completely backed up against the corner, just like they said she'd be. 

' _Damn it_!' She cursed silently under her breath. ' _How could I have let this happen_!'

"You're not going to get away this time."

The jinchuriki swore and had her claws out in front of her.

The men saw this and grinned.

"Ah, silly girl. You think that's going to stop us?"

Yugito glared at them, but said nothing.

"Leave me alone. Or else." She threatened.

"Like that's going to stop us."

Two of the men came closer and closer to her and they had her hands chakra hand cuffed. 

"Let me go!" Yugito tried resisting against the hand cuffs, but it was no use. She was done for.

"She's feisty one, that's for sure...." said one of the men. "I wonder if she's like this to all the men who have tried to take that tailed beast of hers...."

"Shut up!" Yugito shouted, but soon had her mouth closed by a big hand. " _Mmph_ -!"

One of the men grabbed her chin harshly and forced her to look up at him.

"Don't try me, little girl. I could kill you right now." He had a blade right up against her neck. "One cut and then your head comes off." She scowled. 

"You know...We've got to bring her back one way or another. Dead or alive."

"Let's just take her back now. You know how our Leader doesn't like waiting." The other guy said. 

She took this chance and tried to run past them, but one of the men had her in a headlock.

"How dare you, you fools! Let go of me!" She said, struggling to get out as they had her in their iron-like grip.

"You bitch! Did you really think you could get away? Let's face it...even if you did try to outrun us - which is impossible by the way - you can't run very far with a broken ankle and all that blood you've got on you, now, can you? At the rate you're going, you're going to die."

'I'm...going to die?'

And Yugito gave in. 

There was no hope left. She was caught. And now - who knows what will happen next?

"Good girl." The two men said as they started to see her giving up on whatever hope she had left. They started walking away with her. The last of the light in the room went out and now it was dark. 

Then there was only total darkness.

 

 

* * *

 

  **At the Sealing Cave**...

"Almost finished..."

"I can't believe we found the Two Tails so soon." Konan stated. "What do we propose we do with her afterwards, Pain?"

"We shall dispose of the body."

"Burn it alive! Haha! Then the god Jashin will be proud of me!" Hidan said, smiling.

"That sounds like a bad idea. Why can't I slice her into bits? That'll be more funny, no?" Kisame smirked. He showed Hidan his Samehada sword and Hidan backed against the wall.

"H - hey. That's cheating, you know!" Hidan was sweating like crazy and he looked scared as he backed away. He stared at the sword cautiously like it was going to kill him. Kisame stepped a bit closer and smirked. "Kuku. The body is mine to do with as I please. So don't interfere. Got it, kid?"

Hidan nodded, not wanting to mess with the shark.

"Good."

"Guys. Be quiet. Both of you." Itachi stood between the two of them looking tired.

"Sorry, Itachi-san." Kisame said sheepishly as he reluctantly sheathed his sword and backed away from Hidan.

"Hmph. Whatever." Hidan crossed his arms and looked at anywhere but at Kisame.

The statue beside the jinchuuriki extracted the bijuu out of Yugito and she screamed in pain as it was literally sucking it out of her.

"You - You bastards! You may have killed me, but there are more of us out there! And we _will_ kill you! We will come back. And when we do, you Akatsuki will all die!"

"Shut up...you should know your limits, jinchuuriki." Pain said, with an evil smile,"This is goodbye."

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!" Yugito screamed as the pain was too much for her to bear and she died.

There was a round of applause as everyone stared at the dead body and what was left of the dead jinchuriki.

"Finally...it took three freakin' weeks!" Hidan shouted. Kakuzu his partner said nothing and ignored his idiot teammate.

Kisame licked his lips. "If only I could have ripped her skin out from the insides. Then that would have been so much more... _fun_. Kukuku."

"Hm...she died." Sasori said, stating the obvious and sounding bored. This time the puppeteer wasn't wearing the Hiruko puppet. His foot was on her face before he kicked her face in. "Wonder how long the next one will last."

"Itachi...how many are there and where are they?" Nagato's Deva Path Pain asked.

"From Konoha, there is the Kyuubi's Jinchuriki Uzumaki Naruto. And there are nine of them. But where are the rest? Is unknown."

"Hm. I see." He seemed to consider his words for a moment before turning to the person beside him.

"Konan, I want you to research the whereabouts of the other jinchuriki for me. See if there are any other jinchuriki that are from the Uzumaki clan."

"Yes, as you wish," The woman's body turned into paper until she disappeared leaving behind paper flowers. The other Akatsuki members watched her go before Pain decided to speak up.

"It's getting fairly late outside..." He said, watching the moon out of the cave with his rinnegan. He turned to face Kisame.

"You will dispose of the body, Kisame?" Nagato asked him while still staring at the night sky.

"Yeah." Kisame said. "She's a goner, all right."

"Hey! I wanted to dispose of her body!" Hidan said angrily. "She's the perfect sacrifice for Lord Jashin!"

"Sorry, Hidan. But I got her first." said Kisame with a smug smirk.

"Aww man. No fair!"

Deva Path Pain sighed and turned to face Itachi.

"Itachi. Do you have any other information on the boy?"

"Well, he'll be the one to shout and run at you." Itachi said with a small smile as he said that.

There was a moment of silence before the Akatsuki rounded on him.

"What the hell, man?! That was so unhelpful!" Hidan shouted at Itachi. He pointed a finger at him accusingly, as if it was his fault. "I know you know the Leaf guys better than anyone, but what the fuck?!"

"Huh? Seriously? Nothing more specific than that? Mm?" Deidara asked.

"That is all. My apologies." Itachi said with a sigh, not wanting to tell them about Naruto Uzumaki's kage bunshin no jutsu/shadow clone the forbidden technique - or anything about him, for that matter. That was for them to figure out all by themselves.

There was a swish and Itachi disappeared.

"Geez. Freaking coward." Hidan sighed. "Couldn't come out here like a man and tell us. Weak people like him are the ones that get sacrificed for Jashin-sama and are the first to go."

"Mm, maybe he just doesn't know?" suggested Deidara.

"Doubt it." said Sasori boredly.

"I'll be waiting for you, Itachi." Deva Path Pain said.

"Well then. Which of them is the jinchuuriki. Mm? The Uzumaki?" Deidara asked.

"Yeah." Sasori said. "Why? You know something about him?"

"Well, here's a word of fair warning. It's said that the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki is considerably strong...mm. So be careful if you cross paths with him, mm."

"I see. Thank you, Deidara. You can all go now." Nagato said with a small smile.

'This wasn't exactly what I had planned, but...'

' _We will find him. Soon_...'

* * *

"Ya - I mean, Nagato?" Konan appeared in a swoosh of paper. She corrected herself before she could say their old teammate's name.

"Yes, Konan?" He asked.

"I researched some information about the jinchuuriki." She stated.

"Good."

She told him the rest of the story.

* * *

 

"The Uzumaki...

Are a clan known for containing tailed beasts. Supposedly, their clan was wiped out a long time ago. But there should be some left. Find the other Uzumakis like Naruto...and the tailed beast they contain. That is your mission."

Konan had told them.

* * *

The Akatsuki stood over the Village Hidden In The Grass. Deidara and Itachi were sent to search for a jinchuuriki, specifically an "Uzumaki" that contained a tailed beast. After searching for countless hours for a tailed beast to capture, the two team members agreed to hide under a henge and search the place of any hidden jinchuurikis in sight. The village had had close affiliations with the Leaf and close allies to the Third Hokage Itachi had known so well. They had walked a good four hours through forests of nothing but mushrooms, bamboo, and rivers. Sometimes they spotted streams of water or fresh springs, other times they didn't. You could get lost in this forest if you weren't careful. Currently, they were walking through shrubbery and senbon traps, trying to sense any jinchuurikis or any "Uzumakis" close by. But so far, no such luck.

Itachi and Deidara hopped tree to tree, their eyes searching but not finding anything.

"Un...the sun is setting. We're running out of time. We should head back...un." Deidara spoke up.

"Hnn..." Itachi agreed.

"One Tails...Two Tails...and I'm Tobi! Hee hee!" Someone said from behind them. They lost balance and fell off of the branch they were on. Tobi hopped down from the tree to them.

"WHA - Madara?!" Deidara shouted. He glared at the newcomer angrily and Itachi came to a halt. "What the hell! You're not supposed to be here, un!" He pointed an accusing finger at the masked man. "And what do you mean, 'Tobi'?! You're Madara, right?"

Deidara was new to the Akatsuki - sooner to be expected, really -, but apparently he and Madara were new members of the Akatsuki. He was glad he wasn't paired up with him, because he heard he was loud and troublesome and acted like a complete idiot.

"Well, you can call me Tobi from now on. Rolls off the tongue easier, you know? Anyway, when I heard you were coming, I just to come running. Tee hee!"

"Maa Maa where are you guys going, anyway? You seem to be in a hurry. Hmm...could it be you guys are trying to find the "

"Yes, we're trying to find a jinchuriki. An Uzumaki jinchuriki, preferably." said 

"Ahhh, I see." Tobi moaned. "Well, I'm sure my Deidara-senpai can do it! Ne ne, Deidara-senpaaaaai?"

"Shut up! You're so annoying, un."

"Aw, but Deidara Senpai~! I'm like a little school girl falling in love~! Aha haha ha!" Tobi swooned his hips. "I missed you sooooo much!"

Itachi raised an eyebrow at Tobi's weird behavior. 'What?'

Deidara's eyes twitched as Tobi said that. "Do you want me to kill you?! Stop acting like a child! We're in the middle of a mission, mm! Now is not the time to mess around!" He said angrily.

"Aww, you wanna blow stuff up, don't you, Deidara-san?" Tobi asked. Deidara cringed and mentally slapped himself. "No no no. That's not it. To me, the essence of art is...the most important thing in the whole world! If an artist doesn't get high motivation, then his sentiments are low and shallow."

"Hehe. Oh, Deidara-senpai..." Tobi giggled. "Well well well. What do you know, my Deidara is so cool! As expected of my Deidara-senpai~!"

Itachi stood between them and sighed. He was wondering why he ever agreed to coming here. But he had to finish the mission. Even with the two foolish idiots, he had to find the jinchuuriki and hopefully find Naruto Uzumaki.

"What - hey! Do you want to die...mm?" Deidara licked his lips at the thought. He couldn't wait to use his explosion and Tobi would be the perfect test subject. The annoyance deserved to die after all the humiliation he had put him through.

"Ohhh, Deidara-senpai! I love you!" Tobi said with a laugh. "This is a test of love! It has to be! We all know True love conquers all!"

"Hmph. How lame. Stop talking so much and act cool." Deidara showed him his mouths out of his hands. "Cool=art. Mm. See?"

"Ahhh. I see." Tobi nodded happily.

"Ahem." Itachi cleared his throat. He felt like he was interrupting something. What it was, he didn't know. He didn't think he wanted to know, anyway.

"Oh, Itachi-san! Sorry, I didn't notice you for a second there! Tee hee!" Tobi laughed.

"Hn," His eye flickered to the other man's eye. He stared at the hole through the mask Tobi had There was something...strangely familiar about it. But he had never properly met him aside from the Akatsuki meeting. He was new to the Akatsuki. So why was this stranger so...

He shook his head. "Hey. Are we getting out of here or what?"

"Oh yeah!" Deidara stopped a. "Looks like it will take awhile to get out of this forest. So..."

"Now you will finally appreciate my clay art!"

Seeing as how the trip could take several hours at most to travel by feet, Deidara summoned C2 a giant flying clay dragon for them to ride on. They flew high above the forest and finally spotted a small village further out. They landed at the village square where shocked and surprised villagers gathered around them in crowds.

And now they were here. The  _fools_. They actually believed them to be Leaf nin. The henge/transformation jutsu even fooled the head of the clan members there. The meeting and interrogation went surprisingly well. They were able to not give too much away about who they were and get away with trespassing the village.

* * *

Now that they had found the

"Let me go! Please! I'll give you anything, so please

"Tell us where the Uzumaki Jinchuuriki is, mm. And we'll let you go freely." Deidara said

"Kushina? I - I...don't know.

"Kushina died during the Attack...

"I...I don't know. Please...

Itachi stared down at the dying body before him. The woman lay in a puddle of her own blood.  _Pathetic_. Didn't she know that this was bound to happen? He wasn't the prodigy rookie ANBU he used to be. The Uchiha wasn't the popular or kind boy who loved his brother dearly or the boy that made his late father proud anymore. He was a cold blooded murderer with a heart of stone.

At least, that's what he tells himself. He has no heart.

He had never wanted this life. He had never wanted this to happen. Then again, who would? Who would want to kill their mother? Or their father?

Shisui had given him this accursed eye. He had killed his best friend - his closest bond - and all for what? For the Mangekyou Sharingan?

But was it all worth it? He had did it all to protect Sasuke.

If Sasuke learned the truth, he would never ever forgive him. Sasuke didn't need to know he was an innocent man. He didn't need to know the whole truth. If word got out, he wouldn't know how to handle the truth. The stone hard

He had lived with his mistakes for far too long. His illness would soon kill him, and the strain on his eyes would blind him for sure if he wasn't careful.

"P - Please, have mercy..." The Uzumaki healer choked on her words, and coughed out blood. "Please, I beg you...don't hurt my daughter. Please, anyone but her. Don't hurt my daughter, Karin, please...she doesn't deserve to die. She's only a child...She has a special...

"Power? Ha. Why should we keep her alive when we can kill her now? Mm.

"Wha - Wait! Bite her...bite her and she can heal you, any of your wounds. Just don't hurt her, please," she pleaded.

"Are you crazy, old woman?! Why should we listen to you?

Itachi told him to shut up

"You're the one of the last Uzumaki, hn?" Itachi asked, staring down at the red haired woman with steel gray eyes. "Next to that Naruto I've heard so much about."

"Y - yes. You're an Uchiha, aren't you? H - how -?!"

Itachi's eyes widened in realization. This woman - had to be an Uzumaki. The woman he saw on one of her travels to the Leaf would talk to him under a henge to hide her identity. But her voice was painstakingly familiar. It had to be her - she had to be the one. He just knew it.

"Mito Uzumaki." He remembered.

The lady named after the First Hokage's wife and one of the first few kunoichi of the Uzumaki clan. He had read about her in ancient documents hidden away in the Uchiha library only he and Sasuke could access. She had been a strong shinobi and was also a sensory-type like a lot of other Uzumakis, supposedly, and was also a jinchuuriki of sorts that once contained Kurama the Nine Tailed Fox. Supposedly, the Uzumaki clan was wiped out because all of the other villages feared their powers and the clan's sealing jutsus. And fear was their worst enemy. That's why the whole village was wiped out in the first place.

So...so...

He was wrong. Why else was Naruto Uzumaki still alive and why else were the mother and daughter still alive? Of course, this woman was nothing like Mito the First, at least appearance-wise. She had to be a distant descendant of some sort.

Itachi looked down at the dying body of hers. A flicker of something -  _Regret? Remorse? Guilt_? - crossed his dark, cold eyes, but just as soon as it came, it was gone.

"I will make this quick and painless." He told her coldly, activating his Mangekyou Sharingan with all three tomoes. He activated the genjutsu and her whole world shattered right before her very eyes. The once blue sky with white clouds turned into a blood red sky with black clouds.

She screamed in the inverse looking world she was in. She watched her husband die right in front of her, with nothing but kunai, senbon, and shuriken stuck to his body.

"Save - save Karin," he told her in a choked voice. He fell to his knees and she rushed over to him, trying to heal his wounds. His eyes went grey and his now lifeless body was in her hands.

Tears streamed down his face and she screamed.

"Please - please, stop!" She begged on her knees, turning to Itachi. But she was blind, blood poured out of her eyes.

He had to end her misery. Blood splattered on his black robes with the infamous red swirly clouds. He stabbed it right through her chest and her breathing stopped.

Another innocent life taken. One that could've easily been avoided.

 _I'm sorry_ , he wants to say.  _I'm sorry it had to be this way_. But he know he can't. The Akatsuki didn't feel sorry for assassinating their victims. They weren't human. They don't cry over a simple shinobi's death. They don't so much as shudder when they slaughter the young or the elderly. The don't feel regret when they wipe out a whole clan. But Itachi did.

And he had to live with his mistakes. He was now an enemy to the Hidden Leaf, as he should be. Sasuke could be safe, now.

The hopped onto C2.

"My explosions will be a blast!"

Deidara smiled and threw an explosion tag down to the village below. There were screams as it exploded and blasted parts of the village.

He laughed the whole time

"Hn? You call those explosions fine art?" Itachi asked, staring down with wary eyes.

"What? Fine art is explosion and involves the same skilled labor as real art. It is eternal beauty. And it lasts forever."

Itachi sighed.

I made you angry...mm?

"Yes!

* * *

Deva Pain

"We have now passed judgement."

"We are Six Paths of Pain. We are...God!"

* * *

"Tobi is so happy!"

Itachi rolled his eyes. "Is that all

"Tobi doesn't know what to think...Tobi thinks you were amazing~! Tobi thinks you were awesome~!"

"That was a close call!" Tobi said

"Aw, man! I'm so hungry! Let's go eat something!" He said all of a sudden.

"You're...not listening to me, are you?" Itachi asked.

"No! Bye!" he sped off before he could 

"He's always like this."

"Tell me about it.

"I see."

"Oh my...that sure hit the spot!"

Tobi ate his dango and Deidara glared at him.

"You totally kicked their butt, Deidara-san!" Tobi said happily.

"Mm. Don't thank me. It was all thanks to my exploding art, mm. 

"Well, you are always amazing, Deidara-senpai!"

"Great. Now that we finished our lunch. Let's head back.

* * *

 

(TO BE EDITED/REVISED)

After the team meeting, Itachi needed to go see Kisame. He had to be close by, but before he could go, he went to Tobi and Deidara.

"I've got to go, mm. My hands are hungry." He left them alone.

"So we go after the Nine Tails Jinchuuriki next?" Tobi asked Itachi. "Hn." Itachi replied, not knowing what else to say. They had left the village awhile ago and now the two were standing out in the rain.

"What are your reasons for wanting to destroy the Leaf?" Itachi couldn't help but ask. Something about the man seemed...off.

He was hiding something...and he had a strange eye.

_Where do your loyalties lie?_

"The same reason as you...Tobi hates them for what they did to Tobi! Tobi has waited too long to crush the Leaf." In emphasis, he clenched his gloved hand as if the entirety of the village was within his grasp and crushed it in the palm of his hands. He cackled with glee behind his mask.

"Tobi plans to destroy them all...and obtaining the Tail Beasts is just part of the process. Also, Tobi wants to catch one jinchuuriki...you've heard of him, no? Naruto Uzumaki." The name rolled off of his tongue, and Itachi recoiled at the name.

 _The Nine Tailed Fox_...

Itachi sighed, holding the bridge of his nose. Soon the time would come when he would have to kidnap the kid. He wasn't looking forward to - like all of his past choices - capturing him. The extraction would take a week, but hopefully he will live. Hopefully...

But it had to be done. It was his duty. He was an "Akatsuki" now.

Itachi shook his head. He would protect Naruto from their leader Pain. So they wouldn't catch the Nine Tails.

He sighed. He really didn't want to kidnap Naruto. That was not his number one priority.

"They say he's something special. He is the most powerful jinchuuriki of them all, aside from the bijuu Ten Tails. Guess we'll have to find out if he's as powerful as they say! Teehee hee!" He says with false enthusiasm. "Hn, Tobi?"

"Yeah?"

"Hmm, so you call yourself Madara, now, do you?" Itachi raised an eyebrow at the man with the orange swirly mask. Despite his cheery attitude, he knew it was all an act; a front. Because at one moment he would be deadly quiet and at others he would be serious. The guy was a phony to be had, that's for sure. He was hiding something and Itachi was going to find out sooner or later.

Before he could say anything, 

"Orochimaru! Kabuto!" Tobi called.

' _Damn it_...' Itachi swore, '

"Greetings, gentlemen," Orochimaru smirked.

Kabuto's glasses glinted as he stared between the two of them.

"I assume you two have finished your mission, have you not?

Itachi nodded.

"We killed a sensory-type healer. She was the last of the Uzumaki clan." Itachi refrained to say anything else, they didn't need to know that there was one still alive out there somewhere. And she was currently missing.

"Goody goody!" Tobi clapped his hands together. Itachi shot him a look and crossed his arms. He wanted answers, but it appeared he wouldn't be getting any anytime . The masked man had slipped through his fingers...

"Hmm. I see. Anyway, I couldn't help but overhear your little - ah - _conversation_ you had earlier." Kabuto says, his glasses flashing slightly.

"Oh?" Itachi couldn't help but raise an eyebrow. This didn't sound so good...

"According to my archives, Madara has died ages ago. He is long dead by now." The nin said, his glasses flashing as a sick smile stretched across his face. "The fact that you say you are Madara Uchiha is astonishing. Unless you are him revived, somehow, then that is astounding to even the many who do know of you."

"I know." Tobi says, dropping his referring to himself in a third person and his act altogether. "You are clever, aren't you? Yes, I am not the infamous Madara Uchiha. But I go under his name now around here. So you should get used to it by now or your blood just might spill all over Orochimaru's robes of his. Akatsuki or not. Is that clear?"

Kabuto glared at him from his position through his glass, but said nothing.

"You aren't Tobi, that's just a fake alias. I can see right through you. Isn't that right," He turned back to look at him square in the eye,

" _Obito Uchiha_?"

Everyone but Itachi and 'Obito' gasped. Obito clapped his hands together and laughed.

"That's right. I am Obito. And I am still alive."

The swirly orange mask disappeared and showed Obito's real face. The one that had one Sharingan guy had had.

"Aren't you supposed to be dead?"

"My Old Man gramps brought me back. The real Madara Uchiha. You did me a big favor, Itachi..." Obito said, "But I will purify my clan my way. The way Madara would have wanted...I work for him, now. And we will destroy the Leaf. Nothing will stop me."

After the big reveal, everyone settled into an awkward silence. The whole time Itachi was wondering what the hell was going on. _So, Sasuke is not the last Uchiha it seems_...

"Ah, Itachi~!" Orochimaru came behind Itachi and a long slick tongue licked the side of his face. If Itachi cringed, then he didn't show it. He just stood there and let the snake man have his perverted ways with him.

Tobi - no, _Obito_ stepped in and saved him - _thank the kami!_ \- and said, "Orochimaru, I'm afraid you will have to cut this visit short. The Akatsuki are looking into the other villages and you are getting in the way of that. Please leave."

"Hmph. Fine." The ex-Akatsuki member said with a sigh.

"Kabuto, come along with me." Kabuto accompanied him and they left.

Deidara smirked. "Took them long enough, mm.

"Exactly! Hee hee hee!" said Obito. 

* * *

Itachi sat on his bed thinking.

 _What would life had looked like had I not killed my mother and father? Would they love me and still be alive. No. What am I saying. I had no choice but to. To save my own clan from further destruction. I had to kill them from within_. He remembered the words the Third hokage had told him. 

 _What if I was someone else? Then I would have lead a normal life as an ANBU and follow my father's footsteps_. He stared up at the ceiling, lost in his own thoughts.

 _What am I saying?_ Itachi shook his head. _I wish I'd never been born with this burden._

But wishing didn't do a damn thing, now did it? He sighed and slumped against the wall. He was going to die soon. He had a few years . By then his little brother would

"Good night, Sasuke..."

 _I miss you, my little brother_.

"Father...Mother..." They stand there in the light, waving at him in welcoming.

Itachi reaches out a hand to the silhouettes of Mikoto and Fugaku. Their image is distorted slightly, and, as a hand goes through their shoulder; he knows why.

It's only a dream, he realizes a little too real. A surreal and realistic one. But a dream, nonetheless. They would never be the real Mikoto and Fugaku Uchiha. It was only an illusion, and visions weren't real, no matter how desperately he wanted them to be. He desired them. Longed the feeling of seeing them again, as Itachi this time. Not as an Akatsuki.

But they wouldn't. His real parents wouldn't ever forgive him. They'd sooner burn in hell than to see his face. And that thought saddened him. 

They stare at him with warm smiles, no hatred or coldness on their eyes, in their faces. They just stare at him lovingly like the monster in front of them is their son.

"Welcome back, my son." Fugaku said with a warm smile.

Itachi felt a lump in his throat. He couldn't bear to see them again. To speak with them again.

"I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry." He said the words over and over and over again. He shook his head, "For far too long I've been in the darkness...far too long than I should've." His voice cracked as he tried to contain the overwhelming emotion of seeing them again.

His heart ached as he said these words. Buried away feelings of longing resurfaced again. They smiled at him, welcoming him back, with open arms. There wasn't a look of hate or hurt or betrayal... as if he didn't murder them. Simply happy to see their own son once again. But why? Shouldn't they shun him or - or something?

 

"I always wanted to be the big brother Sasuke never got to have. I wanted to be there for him. But look at me now. I am nothing more than a monster...the one who killed both of you. How can you ever forgive someone like me...for what I did to you?" Itachi asked.

"We are proud of you, my son!" Fugaku clapped him on the back good-naturedly with a smile.

"You are too kind, Itachi," Mikoto says and embraced him motherly like one would to a child. Fugaku hugged him just as lovingly as well, as he sobbed into her shoulder.

"Think of it this way. Maybe you could've changed. Maybe our lives might have been saved. But, Itachi...it had to be done." Fugaku said.

"I failed. I failed to protect the one thing I sworn to protect."

" _Why_? Why are so nice to me? After everything I've done?" Itachi cried, "How dare you! How dare  _you_  be nice to  _me_! Stop! Stop doing this, please, I don't deserve you or you. I don't deserve any of you."

"It's because we love you. We always will." His mother soothed. "See, son. We both love you so much. More than you could ever know."

Itachi stared at them with wide eyes, sadness in his expression. Tears trickled down his cheeks and he wiped them away. "You still haunt me in my memories...you're always reminding me what we could have been had I not...had I not...

"What happened was in the past. You had to stop the war, didn't you?"

"B - but I wasn't good, now was I? I made a lot of mistakes...and I failed you as a son." Itachi spat bitterly, unable to look them in the face without wanting to cry or burst into tears.

"Of course not! How could you say that? You are our child! You did your best."

"T - thank you. I don't deserve your love after everything I've done to you. But thank you. Mother. Father."

"But I'm happy...to have been part of this family." Itachi closed his eyes and his mom and dad disappeared.

_Sasuke..._

_May you live on on whatever path you choose; light or darkness._

_You are my most precious little brother._

_I will always love you and watch you from afar. Know this, Sasuke..._

_You will always be loved. Don't you ever forget that. You will do great things in life. I'm sure of it._

And Itachi slept on, a small smile on his lips. Sleeping without a sound.

Something he hadn't done in years.


	2. 2. Revelations

_**2\. Revelations (work in progress)**_

* * *

Itachi woke up with a start, eyes blinking as he squinted around the small room he was in. He sighed as he stared up at the ceiling. Even with his poor eyesight he could see all the cracks and imperfections in between. He sat up from his cot and sighed. 

' _Is it the time already_?' He wondered briefly before stretching and standing up. He thought back to what happened yesterday and groaned. ' _If I can keep Naruto the jinchuuriki out of harm's way and I can't let them hurt Konoha._..' Itachi thought. ' _Naruto should be living in Konoha. I have a feeling we will be going there soon_...'

He sighed. If the time had come to it, he would have to keep him away from Pain. Again, he wondered how he would protect him from Kisame. And out of their - the Akatsuki's - sight.

* * *

 ** _Two weeks after the battle_**... _ **and the showdown with Gaara...**_

"Thanks, Sasuke-kun. You were the one that saved me from the sand, weren't you?" Sakura asked Sasuke. 

"No. It was Naruto who saved you."

"Aww, no need to lie! That was really nice, Sasuke-kun. Thank you. For saving me." She said, blushing. 

Sasuke turned to face Naruto who was standing a few feet away from them talking to Kakashi.

' _No. You're wrong, Sakura...He fought with all his strength to save you...he's shown a power I've never seen before_...'

 He thought back to when Naruto fought Gaara and Shukaku with Gamabunta. "Guh!" He clenched his fists. ' _Why? Why am I so_... _weak_...?'

' _Weakling_...' Itachi had told him. 

He grit his teeth together and glared at Naruto's back. Angrily, he clenched his fists and stormed off without looking back.

"Sasuke-kun? Come back!" Sakura called, but was ignored as Sasuke continued walking away.

\---

"Hey, Kakashi! Teach me the chidori!" Naruto shouted.

"...No."

"Please?"

"No."

"C'mon. Pretty please?"

He couldn't say no to Minato-sensei's son's face...now can he? Kakashi sighed.

"Hmm...all right. Let's give it a go."

"Yeah! Thanks, Kakashi-sensei!"

"Alright."

"UGH! Damn it!" Naruto held his hand, but no electricity chakra came out of it. He tried over and over and over again, but no spark came out. Nothing. He sighed at his lack of progress. "Guess I'm not the elemental type to use it...huh?" He turned to his sensei, who nodded.

"Hmm...How can I put this?" Kakashi put a finger to his chin as he contemplated what to say next. "Your affinity isn't the right type. It looks like you're a wind-type and the chidori is a lightning-type technique." Kakashi pointed out. "So even if you did use it, you wouldn't be able to. You're going to have to train with your Rasengan instead."

' _Geez. Couldn't he have said that - oh, I don't know - earlier?! You know, BEFORE I started the chidori? Well, you know what? I don't need some stupid Chidori anyways_.' Naruto crossed his arms. ' _I'm perfectly fine with my rasengan, thank you! Y'know, speaking of rasengan_...'

"Well, whatever. Where did that pervy sage Ero-sennin go, anyways?! He was right here a moment ago!" He looked around wildly, and had a hand on his eyes; searching for a man hard to miss what with white hair who called himself 'Jiraiya'. But he was nowhere to be found.

"He left...somewhere. He was supposed to take you to the shinobi training center and train you himself. But I don't really know where he went." Kakashi shrugged. "Such a shame. I was going to ask him for his autograph since I'm his number one biggest fan, but he is nowhere to be seen."

' _Why am I surrounded by perverts_?  _Doesn't he get tired reading all that porn? Guess not_.' Naruto thought angrily. ' _God damn it_...  _I don't have time for this_...' He clenched his fists.

"Oh. I think I should go to the Hokage Tower, now..." Kakashi stared at the Hokage Head Monument. "And find your sensei - and fast. I have some things I have to do..." He said, "I heard he's searching for the new Go daime hokage "Tsunade-hime" with the ANBU search party...but I've got to see him for myself."

He hurriedly said as he brought out his scroll. "Kami knows what will happen if I don't."

"Yeah, that's a good idea! Well, I gotta get goin'! Training to do, damsels in distress to save, worlds to see, places to go! Whole worlds to explore! ...You know. Things like that." Naruto said with his arms behind his head.

"See you, Naruto." Kakashi disappeared in a  ** _POOF_**! of smoke.

"Bye, guys! See ya later!" Naruto said to his team mates - or rather team _mate_ seeing as how Sasuke was gone. He left and headed to the training grounds.

* * *

"Aw man. Stupid Bakashi. I can't believe I can't do the chidori training..." Naruto's shoulders slumped and there seemed to be a grey cloud of doom hanging above his head. He sighed.

He stopped at the tree and shook his head.

"Yeah right! Like I'm gonna let that slow me down! I'm not gonna give up because of that! With or without the chidori, I'm still gonna get stronger! One day I'm gonna kick Sasuke's ass!" He snickered at the thought."Hell yeah! Here we go! Let's give it our best shot!"

He started summoning some shadow clones.

"Alright, guys! Let's get started, shall we?" The kage bunshin no jutsu and shadow clones nodded before readying into a fighting stance.

" _HYAH_!" The real Naruto aimed a punch at the clone's head, but the clone kicked him hard in the stomach. He was sent flying to the tree across the area and coughed out blood. He wiped the blood coming out of his mouth with his sleeve. "Damn...I missed." He said and shakily stood up again with his back to the tree. The shadow clone that attacked him tried to run away, but he stopped it before it could make a move.

"You're not getting away!" He shouted and slammed a kunai through the clone. It cut through it's chest and disappeared.

He summoned another clone and slammed a fist on it's forehead. The clone's head shook and then it fell to the ground and disappeared in a poof of smoke.

Naruto Uzumaki fought harder and harder and harder through waves and waves of shadow clone after shadow clone, but somehow he got the funny feeling that he wasn't alone. He turned around and saw a familiar face sitting on a branch watching him fight.

"Kakashi-sensei! You know I can see you, right?" Naruto said suddenly, staring at him out of the corner of his eye.

"Yo! I was wondering when you were going to find me."

"You're not fooling anyone by sitting there like that, ya know."

"Hmm...I was sure I hid myself so well...Oh well. You got me." His sensei shrugged. "I guess it can't be helped." Naruto glared at him. "Don't underestimate me! Someday, I'll show you how strong I can be! I'll show you guys! In just two years, I'm gonna become an even better ninja than ever before! Believe it! You'll see!"

"Sorry. Sorry." Kakashi sweat dropped. He placed his book on the branch and hopped down to the ground where Naruto was waiting for him.

"So. You're practicing that new rasengan of yours? Jiraiya taught you that technique?" Kakashi asked conversationally. 

"Heck ya I am! Uh. Yeah, he's my new sensei now since that Ebisu-sensei was such a pervert. Why! Why! Why do you wanna know so badly?" Naruto asked curiously.

"Because." Kakashi said as if that was reason enough. "Yeah? Well. Just 'cause you want to know, doesn't mean I'm going to tell you!"

' _He's definitely a lot like his mother_...' Kakashi thought back to Kushina - Minato-sensei's wife. ' _The hot-headed habanero_.'

Kakashi sighed and looked away. "Can you show me, at least?"

"Fine." Naruto sighed and stepped forward.

"Follow me."

Kakashi fell in step beside him. He stopped when Naruto held out a hand. He concentrated on the palm of his hand.

"See? **_RASENGAN_**!" A blue ball formed on his hand.

"Whoa, nice." Kakashi said, seeing it for the first time. He did a thumbs-up and stared down at the rasengan. It had seemed like forever since he had seen it in person. The last person to show it was - long since dead... 

He held a blue rasengan that looked like Minato-sensei's. Kakashi stared at it with widened eyes."Hey, look at me! I look pretty badass, huh?" Naruto pointed at himself. Kakashi nodded. "I guess it's not a half ball of gas anymore...that's something. I guess." 

"You _guess_?! HEY! Don't make me look bad!" Naruto pointed a finger at him and glared at him. "I spent hours trying to master this thing! And now you're saying it's basically nothing? Baka Kakashi." The boy crossed his arms and looked like a little kid rather than a teenager. Kakashi was suddenly reminded how the blonde was a lot like Obito. Always showing off and trying to look cool. But then that loudmouth got himself killed.

But Naruto was different. He was alive and Obito was not. And Kakashi had to keep him alive - he had to. He couldn't watch yet another comrade die right in front of him. Not after what he had done to Rin...and Obito...

But he was finally acknowledging him. The deadlast was suddenly becoming a strong ninja.

' _I think I'm beginning to finally realize...how strong he's become_.' thought Kakashi.

"It looks like I can't copy that with my Sharingan." Kakashi continued off topic.

"'Cause it's a special technique, that's why!" Naruto pointed to his chest. "You and Sasuke can't cheat off of me and my cool moves! If you want to learn it so bad, you're gonna hafta work hard for it!"

' _Damn...well. Can't have everything in life, I suppose_.' Kakashi sighed.

"Give it up! I worked hard to get to this point. I'm not gonna let it go that easily. Besides, only me and Jiraiya-sensei can use the rasengan. And I'm not gonna teach it to my sensei no matter what!"

' _He's...determined not to teach me, his sensei. He's got guts. I'll give him that_.'

"Listen, if you wanna know how to do it so bad, you should talk to Pervy Sage. That pervert-sennin will teach you how." Naruto said.

"Hmm. Good idea. Well, never mind. I can ask him myself when the times comes. But right now are you sure you want to continue?" Kakashi asked. He knew Naruto wouldn't stop, but he wasn't going to let his carelessness be his worst enemy.

 "Yeah! You bet I am!"

"You don't want to overdo it, you know." 

"Relax! I've got this! Just you wait!" Naruto promised him, before he turned to face a tree.

"Eat shit and die!"

He formed some shadow clones and his rasengan formed a shuriken.

" _ **WIND ELEMENT - WIND SPIRAL SHURIKEN - FUUTON RASENSHURIKEN**_ -!"

He threw it at the tree and it sliced in half. Kakashi stared wide-eyed at Naruto's handiwork. The tree was cut in half into two logs.

"Wow. Naruto does it again…" He clapped, still in shock.

' _He really is...surpassing Minato-sensei and I_.' Kakashi thought, surprised. ' _Where did you learn that technique? He didn't have this power back at the Academy. His potential...surpasses mine and Sasuke's. Without a doubt_.'

"Well? What do ya think?" Naruto turned to face Kakashi and smirked. "Pretty cool, huh? If I do say so myself." he said arrogantly. He mentally gave himself a clap on the back.

' _He sure likes to stroke his big ego, huh? Naruto, you are one cocky guy. A bit too confident for my tastes... but that overconfidence can get him killed someday. The ones that talk big are normally the ones that die first on the battlefield_. _Like_... ** _him_**.'

He thought back to Obito and shook his head. ' _I shouldn't be thinking back when he died a long time ago. The past is in the past_.'

"Your shadow clone distraction really is something, Naruto. You can create a diversion while creating a rasen shuriken... I have to admit, you are mastering this thing pretty quickly." Kakashi shook his head. "I should've known something like this would happen."

"Hehe! Glad you approve, Kakashi!" Naruto gave him a thumbs-up and grinned. "I admit, I am pretty much a master at this kind of stuff. I knew I could count on you! Now then." He turned to face the shadow clones and smirked. As if proving a point, he made a show of striking a hero pose. Kakashi half smiled at the display.

"Let me try again. I gotta do better this time around."

He charged with the force that rivaled the Yellow Flash himself. His speed was...superhuman. There was the signature flash that Minato-sensei had had. Kakashi couldn't believe it. Was this really Naruto he was seeing? When he first met the teen, the boy was a wannabe ninja who somehow was able to trick a jounin - an elite ninja, mind you - and hit him with blackboard eraser of all things. But now...it was obvious this was not the same Naruto from back then.

"U! ZU! MA! KI! Rasengan Barrage!!!"

From his scroll, he pulled out a shuriken and threw it at all the kage bunshins all at once.

All the clones disappeared in a cloud of smoke. Kakashi stared with his Sharingan eye uncovered.

' _I - I could barely track his movements with my Sharingan. He's so fast_...'

"Where - where did you get that?" Kakashi was still stunned.

"Oh, this?" Naruto gestured to his scroll he had with the shuriken.

"Yeah."

"Jiraiya gave it to me. Pretty nice, huh?" He wiped sweat off of his forehead that was sweating and red. "Man, that was a good workout."

"You know, you're starting to get a real hang of this. You're really starting to get good at this kind of thing." Kakashi praised and stepped closer to see him better. He had assumed he was weaker than Sasuke. He thought he had potential second to Sasuke. But clearly he was wrong. It seemed that it was he who was stronger than Sasuke  _and_  still had more potential than him or Sasuke. How was that even possible?

"Yeah? Well. I'll get this new jutsu. Definitely!" Naruto promised him.

"I believe it. You can do it, Naruto!" Kakashi encouraged him. He shouldn't have judged so soon. He was supposed to be training Sasuke, but...Naruto was showing off his new strength and rasengan. Why hadn't he seen this sooner?

"Leave it to me, sensei! I'll show you the strength of your future hokage! And then..."

...You'll finally acknowledge me as your equal!"

" ** _ULTIMATE RASENGAN_**!"

Naruto slammed the rasengan to the ground, creating a crater underneath him. Kakashi covered his eyes from the smoke and dirt clouding his senses. The force...was too powerful!! It was overwhelming! When the smoke cleared, he saw Naruto.

When Naruto stood up, he flashed a fox-like grin at Kakashi. "So? How's that?"

' _Wow_...'

"A - Amazing..." He breathed out. He couldn't believe it. How was Naruto still standing? One rasengan should have been more than enough to tire him out of his chakra. But the boy hadn't had even a single scratch. In fact, he looked perfectly fine.

"How are your chakra levels?" Kakashi asked, not sure how to feel about this new discovery he found.

"I'm running out of chakra pretty fast...but I can do one more, I think..." Naruto replied out of breath. He was sweating and his heart was beating like crazy...But he couldn't give up now.

"' _One more_?'" Kakashi repeated in disbelief, "Are you crazy? Don't over do it. Your hand - !" He saw Naruto's hand and grabbed it. "It's fine, Kakashi-sensei. It doesn't hurt too bad." Kakashi loosened his grip, but still looked hesitant to let him go.

"Are you sure? All right, then...But don't say I didn't warn you..."

"I won't let them lay a single scratch on me! I can handle it!" Naruto shouted before he started his training. "Besides, I've got this! You can count on me, Kakashi-sensei!"

For the next few hours, Naruto trained under Kakashi's wary eye. He knew he should stop his student from overdoing it, but Naruto was stubborn. It was only when he collapsed on the ground that he gave up on trying anymore Rasengans.

They both sat down on a log and stared up at the blue sky.

Naruto stared down at his lap and clenched his fists.

' _This is my limit. I have no chakra left...Sasuke might lose, but I'm not going to lose. Like I'm gonna lose to Sasuke...I've got to get stronger! Stronger than this!'_ He thought, but he was brought back to his senses when he felt himself go sore all over. He really did overdo it this time....

"Man, I'm beat! My hand hurts..." He complained, staring down at his left hand.

"I told you. You're going to kill yourself at the rate you're going. You're lucky I came when I did or you would have gotten yourself in an early grave." Kakashi said grimly.

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"In other words, when you run out of chakra, you can die. Without your life, you are dead. That's why on the battlefield you can't waste it so carelessly."

"Oh, I see. Yeah. Yeah. I know. But what else was I supposed to do?" said Naruto. "I've got to fight. What's the point of being a ninja if I don't fight? I'm not a coward. I'm not going to run away from the enemy, you know? And if I die, so what? At least I did it to protect you guys."

"Naruto...." Kakashi stared at him in shock.

' _He's changed...I don't know why or how. But it's like he's grown up a bit since we first met even though I haven't known him for that long_.'

Naruto smiled at him with his eyes closed like he does in the anime/manga.

"Don't you worry! Your future hokage isn't going to die so easily!"

"Fine....But you've got to be more careful. You don't want Sakura to worry."

"Huh? What makes you say that?" Naruto questioned. "I mean, Sakura-chan has nothing to worry about! I won't die like this. I'm not that weak."

"Hm. You're right." Kakashi agreed.

"Hey. Kakashi-sensei?...You know, you taught me a lot of things. Like teamwork. And what it means to be a team. I don't wanna be a kid forever...from now on I want to do this all by myself!" Naruto said and stopped when he saw Kakashi shake his head.

"You sound so adult. Tell me. What's wrong? You have changed so much so fast." Kakashi sounded so sad when he said that. He was thinking how he had changed. _Too much_.

"We all change, Kakashi-sensei. It happens to everyone. I guess when you experience many battles it can change you. You know?"

"I guess..."

It was still worrying though. The boy was still himself, but barely. It seemed that the fight with Gaara had done something to him. Something had happened back then. But he didn't know what was wrong with Naruto. 

He was depressed. Much more than Sakura was. This worried the Sharingan-user. What did the sand demon do to him?

"I promise I would protect my friends. Back then - when I fought Gaara. I protected Sakura and Sasuke with my life. I think that's where real strength comes from. From protecting the ones you love - your precious people. It doesn't matter how dangerous the situation, as long as you've got something you wanna protect. You'd do anything for them."

' _You'd even...die for them_.' Naruto's eyes darkened when he thought back to when Sasuke had taken the senbon needles for him.

There was some silence. The only sounds heard were the uneven breathing coming out of Naruto and Kakashi. Silently, they stared up at the sky. 

"So, you taught Sasuke the chidori, right?"

Kakashi nodded, wondering where he was going with this.

"In a fight, would I lose to him if I used my rasengan?" 

What was he saying all of a sudden? Suddenly, something was seriously worrying him. ' _Why would he want to fight with Sasuke_?'

"Your Rasengan is good against his chidori. But his fire? You wouldn't stand a chance. But your wind ninjutsu...can blow away even the fiercest of flames."

' _A raging fire...that is Sasuke_.' thought Naruto. He narrowed his eyes and he frowned, deep in thought.

'If I can get rid of it, then maybe...he can finally acknowledge me! That I'm strong, too. That we're equals. Then he won't talk down to me anymore. He'll see how strong I am!' That's what Naruto thought to himself. He was sure of this. If he could prove to Sasuke that he was no longer a Loser, then he'd do whatever it takes.

"What you told me is true, Kakashi….when we were training?"

"You can look left and right and basically do the same thing. So, I balance my chakra and my two clones look right and left. Right?"

"Right... _and_?"

"I haven't mastered the technique yet, but…"

"But what?"

"Well," Naruto hesitated for a minute what to say. "I'm the only one who can surpass the Fourth Hokage. That's what I believe."

' _This is a completely new Naruto_ …' Kakashi stared at him, surprised.

* * *

_**Somewhere in the Hidden Rain Village...** _

Six Paths of Pain smirked. Konan stood by Pain's side.

"Once we grab the nine tails…" Deva Path Pain said. "This world shall only know pain…"

"If we can make war with the Five Nations…we can bring about world peace." Konan nodded. She wasn't sure what Nagato was planning, but...seeing her teammate's dead face, well...it was hard to say no to the one she loved.

"I agree."

"Do you understand pain even a little now? If you don't share someone's pain, you can never understand them."

"I've seen you die once, Yahiko. I think that's why...I understand some of your pain. Before you died." She said, her orange eyes looking up at her late teammate's dead body.

' _This is the only way to bring about peace, is pain, isn't it? It is to end this vicious cycle of hatred. Yahiko_ …' Konan thought sadly.

"Hidan, Kakuzu, Zetsu, Kisame, Itachi, Deidara. You have heard of the Nine Tails whereabouts...correct?" Nagato said, turning to the other members in the room.

Hidan smiled. "Seriously? What a retard…Of course we've heard! Obviously! The guy is our next target, right?"

"Yes," Konan said seriously, "our Leader wants you guys to help out a little."

"I don't see why I can't kill the so-called Nine Tailright now? What're we waiting for? Let's kill it right now!" Hidan turned to face the Akatsuki team members for support. "C'mon, guys! Are you with me?"

"The Kyuubi is not something to be messed with, Hidan. It's tried to attack the village twice now. He can grind lives like a walk in the park...and is powerful, too. I'd be careful if I were you." Sasori said.

' _Seriously? Looks like the puppeteer is scared of some fox boy. Ha! Jashin-sama...will be proud of me if I killed him myself. I am immortal! Lord Jashin won't save you, you damned demon fox_.' He thought smugly. ' _Ya can't kill me...Can't wait to get my hands on you... Heh_!'

"Whatsamatter? Why can't I tear the shithead to pieces? With this scythe of mine, I am unstoppable."

' _I can't wait to pour some blood off of this guy_.' He licked his blade with a crazed smile on his face.

"Because." Nagato and Six Paths of Pain said. "We need to extract the tailed beast out of him. Killing him would waste a valuable asset to the war-makers. It will take some time before we can bring about a new world of peace. He is key if we wish to carry out the Akatsuki's orders."

"Heh. I heard the kid's worth a fortune. He is ranked at a pretty high price off of his hide. Bring his head on a golden plate would be worth thousands." Kisame licked his shark teeth. "Kukuku. Can't wait..."

"What about you, Kakuzu? You've got more lives than them." Hidan asked the old man. "You could chop his head off, yeah?"

"No. I need to restock my hearts...I'm almost all out."

"What the fuck, man! Why couldn't you do this  _before_  we started our mission?!"

 _Here we go again_.

"Because." Kakuzu said simply."I didn't think I'd need to stock up on hearts so soon…"

' _Aw, he's no fun. Party pooper_.' thought Hidan with a sigh.

"Kisame."

Deva Path Pain threw the ryo bag in his chest.

"Itachi." He turned to the Uchiha who was in the room.

"Now that the Uzumaki is killed and you've completed your mission successfully…" said Pain. "And since she wasn't the one jinchuriki we were after...."

"Itachi. Kisame. I want you to capture the Nine Tails Fox for me. Deal with the jinchuuriki. Capture him alive. The rest of you, go."

"Wait! What?! I call bullshit!"

"I wanna see some dead bodies! Why are we sparing this guy? Why can't we - oh, I don't know - kill him?" Hidan suggested.

"Hidan...shut the fuck up." said Kakazu.

"Kakuzu! Whose side are you on?!" Hidan glared at him accusingly.

"Does it really matter? Let's just get going."

"Fuck..."

"Idiot…" Kakuzu sighed. "Hmm...my hearts are low..."

"Yeah? Well, there's no time like the present! You should get outta here and start getting some hearts!" Hidan exclaimed and Kakuzu cringed at how loud the loudmouth was. And why he had to have  _him_  as a teammate. He was loud, annoying, a hindrance, and a constant thorn at his side. Why did he have to wind up with him? Sometimes life just wasn't fair.

"Hmph. Fine." Kakuzu rolled his eyes and left in a swish of speed. He was happy he could get out of here. Hidan was such an annoyance sometimes.

"Aww man. He can at least give me a good reason why I shouldn't kill the little shithead...Damn..." 

"Kukukuku. That's Kakazu for you, alright. Been here longer than all of us Akatsuki members." said Kisame knowingly.

"I'll handle the idiots. You guys get going, mm." Deidara said

"Good luck on your mission...you'll need it." Sasori added.

* * *

Itachi and Kisame stood on the wall overlooking the village.

"It's been a long time since your homecoming...eh, Itachi?"

"Your village, huh? Well, we don't need to destroy what's already suffered a lot of damage...what do you think, Itachi-san?" Kisame asked. "The Leaf is already destroyed. We shouldn't feel sorry for it."

"The One Tail bijuu jinchuuriki Gaara's no longer here." said Itachi impassively. "The other jinchuriki we're looking for...is Naruto Uzumaki of the Hidden Leaf."

Kisame nodded. He knew this already.

"So...I heard an old friend of yours was here. Kakashi, was it?"

"Kakashi Hatake….he is a very well-known Copy Ninja. His ' _penetrating eye_ ' is remarkable as expected of Kakashi-san…" Itachi remarked. "Kakashi-san is not blood related to the Uchiha clan. He is not a true master of the Sharingan...still. He has Sharingan eyes. But he doesn't have our blood. The Uchiha clan is the most powerful and feared clan of all...We have the true powers of the Bloodline of Sharingan Masters!"

' _Hnn...Itachi-san is monologue talking to himself again...Should I listen? Why bother...'_ Kisame frowned and continued staring down at the Leaf village. There, he could see the Hokage Monument. Hashirama, Tobirama, Hiruzen, and Minato could be seen from here.

"Naruto Uzumaki...soon we will possess you and your Kyuubi."

Itachi smirked.

 ** _And so the ninjas head towards a new tomorrow_** …


	3. 3. Itachi's Homecoming to The Leaf!!!

_**3.** **Itachi's Homecoming To The Leaf! (work in progress)** _

* * *

 "I was planning on buying something. It's useless now." Sasuke sighed and turned to the other shops and stores around the street. He saw one restaurant that caught his eye. ' _Ah, Ichiraku's...I haven't been there in awhile_.' If he got a bite to eat real quick, he could go back to Kakashi and practice his chidori for real. He planned to leave the Leaf soon... but he had plenty of time beforehand. ' _Guess I have some time to kill. Kakashi won't be coming back for awhile_...'

He opened the door to the ramen bar and saw a familiar head of blond hair and orange clothes. Naruto.

"These are all my savings, so..." Naruto handed Teuchi the old man 20 ryo. Ayame smiled at him.

"Here you go!" She handed him his bowl of miso ramen. "Nice! Thanks, you guys!"

"Naruto! How are you?"

"I'm doin' great! Better than ever, actually! Thanks for asking!" He said with his mouth full of ramen..

"Is the rumor true? We heard that you were fighting against Gaara of the Sand. Is that really true?" Ayame asked fearfully.

"Heck yeah it is! We went all out and everything! It was great!" Naruto smiled, but then his blue eyes softened and he smiled slightly. "I think he's a pretty good friend, actually. I'm glad I got to fight him."

Teuchi stared at him, mouth open in an 'o'.

Sasuke froze. For a second, he couldn't move and stood there like a complete idiot. _What_? Naruto? Friends with that - with that _monster_?! The one who tried to killed him?! Not to mention himself.

 _How - what - why?_ He had to be hearing things. No way - why would the dumbass become friends with the desert guy? He couldn't be serious. 

"You - You're friends with him?" Ayame gasped. 

"Yeah, why? Why the sudden tension?" Naruto asked, wondering why everyone was overreacting. 

"But he's the - the jinchuriki of the Sand." said Ayame.

Weeeeell. Ya see. He's not that bad, you guys.

Ayame and Teuchi exchanged glances at each other and shrugged

Sasuke ignored the rest . He hid in the corner as he heard their conversation secretly.

When they stopped talking about Gaara, he came out and walked up to Naruto. He hit him on the head from behind.

"Oww! What the hell?!" Naruto held his head in pain.

"Looks like someone arrived here early." Sasuke said with a hand on his hip. "Wha - Hey, Sasuke!"

Sasuke sat down next to him on a spare stool.

"I heard this is where you come all the time." said Sasuke, looking around the place.

"Wha - Whoa! You like ramen, too?" Naruto asked in total disbelief. ' _No way! I thought I was the only one!...Man, even I can't believe it_...'

"Hnn. Not really." Sasuke said coldly. "It is not to my tastes...Seeing you eat that ramen makes me sick to my stomach..."

"Yeah, well, I can't just say no to free ramen, now can I?!" Naruto said with a mouthful of food.

"I guess not..." Sasuke pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. He was wondering why he came here again if only to get annoyed at Naruto. He heard a cling of china and saw a familiar face.

"Hey, Old Man! You owe me back my 50 ryo!" Sasuke rung the front bell and Teuchi came to him. "I want my money back!"

Teuchi handed him some ryo and smiled. "Oh! My apologies, Uchiha-san. Sorry our soup was not to your liking." He bowed before making his leave.

"Yeah, well. Your miso ramen sucks. Hated the thing. Never buying your stupid ramen ever again. What happened that night - was a mistake." Sasuke glared at him before the guy handed him back his spare change.

"Thanks." Sasuke snatched the ryo and shoved it in his pockets. Naruto could only stare at him as he stopped eating the ramen with his chopsticks. ' _Sheesh. That privileged prick! Who does he think he is? Walking in here like he owns the place! Man, I do not want to work for Sasuke as MY customer...someone needs to put this bum over here in his place...I swear_...' And who better than himself? Too bad Sasuke always made him look bad in front of everyone...

"Geez. Someone is hard to please..." He spat out bitterly.

"Shut up." Sasuke said and brought out a bowl.

"Can't you relax a little? We're just hanging out..." said Naruto, confused at Sasuke's weird behavior.

"Yeah, I know, but I don't care." said Sasuke as he brought out his chopsticks and snapped it off.

"Oi! Naruto! You like ramen, right? Here, take this."

' _Huh_?'

"What the - ?" said Naruto as Sasuke handed him some ryo.

"I don't need this old thing. You have it." Sasuke said with a faint blush on his cheeks.

"You're giving me free money...?" Naruto stared down at his hands with wide eyes. "Great! Now Gama-chan can die happy now!" He laughed and held out his frog wallet. ' _Hahaha! This is the best! More ramen for me, then_!'

"Man, are you serious? Oh man this is so cool! That's your loss I guess. Guess you're not a complete bum after all! You can be really nice...sometimes. Uhh when you want to be, of course."

' _Good to know, I guess_?' Naruto didn't know what to think about that. He was forever an asshole in his mind. Once an asshole, always an asshole.

"Don't mention it. I tried the Ichiraku special. It was disgusting..." Sasuke said matter of factly. He said that, but what was confusing Naruto even more was the fact that he was still eating it even as he said that. Naruto stared at him, mouth agape. Sasuke paused from his eating and looked up at him. "You should see the look on your face. You look like a total loser..." He rose an eyebrow at the dumbfounded look on Naruto's face.

He stopped thinking about ramen and started thinking about something else...namely Naruto's strength...and how inferior he was.

After the fight, he felt... _weak_. He felt like a  _weakling_. And he still was. And here he was - wasting time on ramen with Naruto. When he could be getting stronger and stronger….Naruto wasn't any special. Not any more special than he was.

Instead of trying to get power like he had always wanted, he was wasting his time right now. Here. When he could be elsewhere.

"Did you like your ramen?" Sasuke realized it was a stupid question to ask, but he wanted to spend what little time he had left with the only one he considered a friend - and the closest friend he had ever had.

"Are ya crazy? Heck yeah I did! That stuff sure hits the spot, huh?" Naruto licked his lips and sat at the edge of his seat.

"Hnn." He couldn't say. He couldn't say he liked the stuff.

"Naruto." Sasuke spoke up. He had to say something. Now.

"Huh? What's up, Sasuke?"

"If I were to - someday... leave and never come back. What would you do?" He asked out of nowhere.

' _If I left the village, would you care_?'

"What are ya asking me all of a sudden?"

"Just answer the question, baka!" he said angrily, his face turning red.

"Okay! Okay! Geez..." Naruto thought for a second...Sasuke suddenly acting like this was sort of - weird? He was starting to think something was seriously wrong with the guy."It's pretty obvious, isn't it? What I would do?"

"Hn? It is?" Sasuke asked dumbly.

"You always were surprisingly dense...I mean, c'mon! For crying out loud! I would stop you, of course! I made a promise a long time ago...and I intend to keep that promise. That I would protect my precious people. You, Sakura, everyone...I would do anything to protect you guys. You guys mean the world to me. Without you, well...I wouldn't know what to do with myself. Haha..."

' _Naruto...you really mean that_?' Sasuke thought with wide eyes.

"When you say we are friends...what. What do you really...mean by that?"

"You were, like, one of the first bonds I ever had." Naruto all of a sudden looked sheepish. "Obviously that says something, doesn't it? You are special to me...So..."

"So _what_? Tell me!"

"Yeah, well, I meant what I said. I won't let you go so easily! And that's an Uzumaki promise! Believe it, 'tebayo!" Naruto did his trademark swirly thumbs-up and grinned at him.

' _What a loser_.' Sasuke snorted. "I see. You are such a dobe."

"H - hey! What's so funny? Don't make fun of your future hokage!"

" _Hokage_? Please! Don't make me laugh!"

"Hey! I'll show you! Someday you'll see! How better I am than you!"

"Whatever you say, you dumbass." He stared at Naruto for a moment before looking down at his lap.

' _My brother said to gain the power of the Mangekyou Sharingan...I would need to kill my best friend. My one and my only friend. But I can't. I can't do that. I'm not like my brother...I can't kill you, Naruto_.' 

"WHAT DID YOU SAY?!"

Sasuke was brought back to his senses when Naruto shouted at him. He looked up and couldn't help but smirk. 

"Nothing. Let's go." Sasuke grabbed Naruto's hand and they exited Ichiraku together.

' _I will fight you when we get back...I need to see for myself just how strong you really are_...'

* * *

"H - hey! Uh, Sasuke? Where we going?" Naruto asked as Sasuke led him somewhere. He didn't have a clue where they were going but he hoped Sasuke had some idea.

"To the training grounds. I want to fight you, too." Sasuke said as he was still holding onto Naruto's hand. ' _He wants to fight me! Wait! Why? Oh, yeah! Now I remember! I said I wanted to fight him a long time ago! I completely forgot about that_!'

"Aw, yeah! Let's do it! I'm gonna kick your ass!" challenged Naruto.

"You wish, deadlast."

' _Deadlast! Deadlast! Deadlast! Deadlast! That's all he ever calls me_!' 

"I told you not to call me that!"

' _I'm gonna beat you, Sasuke! I'm going to totally kick your ass! Maybe then Kakashi-sensei and Sakura-chan will start to like me more! I'll train with that pervy sage pervert-sennin to become stronger. And then I'm going to surpass the other kage. Then you will have to acknowledge me as your equal.'_

"Hehe. I'm getting filthy rich now. Think of all the money I can make when I become the next hokage!" Naruto exclaimed.

Naruto could see it now. Him sitting on a golden throne wearing the hokage hat. It was a dream come true! He snickered at the thought.

Sasuke sighed.

"You know, the hokage life isn't all about having your head on the hokage monument and earning more money than the whole village, right?"

"It isn't?" Naruto asked dumbly.

Sasuke rolled his eyes. He really is such a moron sometimes.

"Don't you know the three shinobi sins?"

"No. What's that?"

"The three things a real shinobi should avoid? You know. Women. Alcohol. Money."

" _Alcohol_? No alcohol for me! I'm not even 20 years old yet!" Naruto said. "But what is this "shinobi sins" you're talking about anyways? Never heard of it before. Is it something I should know about?"

Sasuke face palmed. Seriously?

"How do you not know? It was one of the most basic things we learned at the Academy! Everyone and their next neighbor knows it, deadlast!"

"Yeah, well, everyone but me." Naruto crossed his arms and squinted at something.

"So you're saying you don't know anything about them?"

"Nope! Not interested in those. I'm not even old enough to get married and get a wife. I mean, can you imagine Uzumaki babies running around everywhere? I don't even understand this interest in women." 

"I see. So you don't mind staying away from women?" Sasuke asked, raising an eyebrow at him. 

Naruto nodded.

"You don't like women. At all?"

"Nah. Except Sakura-chan!"

Of course. Sasuke groaned. There was always the cherry blossom in his heart. He sighed. How did he know he was going to say something like that?

"Ero-sennin! There you are!" Naruto completely forgot about Sasuke and threw himself at Jiraiya-sensei. He wrapped his arms around his waist and laughed.

"Pervy Sage! We looked everywhere for you!"

"Hey, kid." The pervert sage ruffled his hair and laughed out loud. "Long time no see, huh?" He smiled as he clapped Naruto's back with his big hand. "Good to see you're back from that battle in one piece. I heard that guy is no pushover."

"Yeah! Well, you know me! I never go down without a fight!" challenged Naruto as he pumped a fist in the air. 

"I like you, kiddo. You've got guts."

Sasuke crossed his arms and sighed. "Naruto. C'mon!" He was feeling impatient. The longer he waited, the less time he had with Naruto. He doubted the next time they had together would last long. It would be their final fight before he - ...he didn't want to think about it. 

But he couldn't let this white haired man waste his time!

"Who is this guy?" Jiraiya noticed the newcomer and frowned. 

"Oh, him?" Naruto pointed at his teammate. "He's a total bastard. Name's Sasuke."

"Ah, I see. An Uchiha brat? Hmm...whatever." Jiraiya shrugged. He turned to face Naruto and smiled. He seemed to study and scrutinize him for a moment.

"Wha - What are you staring at? Pervert." Naruto asked, angry.

"You're a lot like the Fourth, kid..." He crouched down to his level.

"Got the same hair and eyes and everything. If I didn't know any better I would say that you're their isan."

' _Shoot...I didn't give away too much there. Did I_?' Jiraiya realized a little too late. He might be his godfather, but he couldn't tell Naruto the truth. Not even him. The one who taught his father! It was a crime. But the Third told him that he had no choice but to. Besides, it would insult his memory to tell him now. Naruto would never believe it.

"Isan? Nah. No way. Me? I'm not related to that guy!" 

' _He's an asshole! He sealed this thing inside of me! There's no way in hell I'm related to the Fourth_...' Naruto thought in complete denial.

 "Hmm..." Jiraiya shrugged. "Well, whatever. You're probably too young to understand, anyway."

Naruto crossed his arms and thought about what had been on his mind lately.

"Say, are you gonna train me now, you crazy old pervert?!"

"Nah, I need to go somewhere special. See someone special...You know. Adult stuff."

"Boooooring." Naruto yawned.

"So you stay here and be a good boy while I'm gone, okay?"

"Hey! Don't treat me like a dog!"

"Here." He handed Naruto the ball-shaped water balloons.

"Again?" Naruto groaned, as he caught it. 

"Yes, again. You still need to control your rasengan and concentrate on your chakra. Your, ah, _special_ one this time." He glanced at Sasuke as he said that.

Sasuke rose an eyebrow at that. _Special_? What special chakra? What special chakra did Naruto have?

' _Hmph. So, I guess he does have some kind of power. Just like... he did during the exam_.'

He thought back to when Naruto had saved him from Orochimaru's snake. He had red eyes then, and no blue.

Jiraiya thought to himself, ' _This could be troublesome. I have to be careful what I say from now on with this kid around. The younger generation is not to know the truth, no matter what_.'

' _Aw, man, this is totally lame_.' thought Naruto angrily. ' _Now I'm on my own with this bum over here. Why does that pervert have to go again? Now I have to wait before I can do anything cool or any cool moves.'_

"Geez...Fine...whatever..." Naruto crossed his arms in front of his chest childishly and frowned. The sight reminded Jiraiya of a kid. ' _Yahiko_...' he thought.

"Now, now. No need to get down in the dumps, kid. This is temporary. This training is nothing compared to what we'll be doing later!" said Jiraiya, trying to cheer him up.

"I guess..."

"Hey. I'll be back before you know it!"

"See you soon. Take care!" Jiraiya waved at him and started walking away .

Naruto watched him go and sighed to himself, clenching his fists.

' _There's gotta be something I can do_...' 

"Man, this sucks...now I'm all alone. Again." He said more to himself than to the person next to him. He didn't see Sasuke staring at him with some emotion - pity? - but he didn't see his expression. Naruto shoved his hands into his pockets and started to walk his way home, when he felt a hand on his.

"Not anymore. C'mon, Naruto. Let's go."

* * *

 They were heading home and the sun was setting. It was times like these where Naruto loved coming back to his house. It was a sense of homecoming and this was where he belonged. He couldn't see himself living anywhere else but the Leaf. 

He was glad he came back to the village. The training he had with Jiraiya was tiring to say the least. So far he was at the third stage, but...it looked like he wasn't going to get any training soon what with Jiraiya trying to find the new hokage which was gonna take awhile.

He barely noticed when they stopped at the road to his house.

"You should go home." Sasuke said suddenly. He let go of his hand and faced away from him.

"Yeah..."

"Hey, Sasuke?"

"Yeah?"

"Sasuke. Didn't you wanna fight me or something?"

"Yeah, but...we will fight sometime soon." Sasuke said. "When the times come we will fight. And it will be the ultimate showdown to see who is better than who."

 "Hell yeah! You're gonna go down, Sasuke!"

"We'll see about that...deadlast."

"See ya, Sasuke."

* * *

It was night now as Sasuke sat on his bed thinking. It seemed he did that a lot these days. Ever since seeing Naruto's fight with Gaara, he was beginning to see the power difference. Naruto was on a whole 'nother level. .

Sasuke was restless. It seemed he couldn't get any sleep without having some gut feeling that something was wrong. And he couldn't stop thinking about Itachi. 

' _Has Itachi come back to the village_?' Sasuke asked himself. ' _Hnn. No. What am I saying? Why would he come back? Anyway, if my brother comes back, then that is bad news for Naruto_.'

"Tch. What in the world am I doing?" Somehow he found himself on the streets, trying to find Naruto. Wherever he was, anyway. He didn't know. He never bothered to ask. ' _Hnn...I'll try this guy! He seems like he knows what he's doing_.' 

Sasuke stopped at the ramen bar Ichiraku. He skid to a halt. "Hey, Old Man! Do you know where Naruto went?" 

The Old Man Teuchi stared at him for a few moments before saying, "Ahh, Naruto? Let's see...let's see...he should be at his home. Walk down the crossroad and take a right. You'll see his house when you get there. Hard to miss." Sasuke sped off before Teuchi could say another word.

"HEY!" He called off after him. "Damn...He looks for someone and doesn't even eat our ramen…"

* * *

 ' _Damned Ero-Sennin. I can see what he really had in mind. He said he wanted to train me! Yeah right. This sort of thing always seems to happen_...' Naruto sighed as he sat cross legged on his bed. ' _I bet he's trying to get laid with some girl while he's gone. Pervert_...'

"Hmph. Refine my chakra...and focus. That's what he said." 

' _I have a bad feeling about this_ …' He crossed his fingers and hoped for the best.

"Well, here goes nothin'!"

In the palm of his hand, Naruto formed the rasengan.

* * *

' _Naruto isn't far_ ….' Sasuke said at a run. He stopped at the street where he suspected Naruto was at. But he wasn't sure where he lived exactly.

' _Damn. There's too many buildings_.' His Sharingan flared to life. ' _How will I know which one is Naruto's or not_?' He frowned at the lack of knowledge he had about Naruto. He had no idea about Naruto's home life and what his lifestyle was like. He knew next to nothing - and he was his teammate for kami sake!

He never bothered to care before. He should have. But before he didn't care at all for Naruto. He had no special feelings for him...the only one who had feelings for him was Hinata. The village hated him and Hinata was the nice girl so one day he would fall in love with her, no doubt. Sakura did not like him. Honestly, he didn't like him either, but...well after the Land of the Waves and "dying" he had died to protect his precious person Naruto. Like Haku and Zabuza, him and Naruto were..."best friends". But in this life or death situation, he needed to know where he was  _now_  or he was doomed. He was getting desperate. For the sake of his teammate's survival and for his own sake, he had to find him _right now -_ and fast.

' _Let me make it in time!_ _If only I had a Byakugan on hand...then I could know where he is within 50 metres perimeter_...' He silently seethed. ' _He is close by…I can feel it_!'

Sasuke stopped by at an apartment complex where Naruto should be at. He hurried to the front desk where he met an old man sat on his chair.

"Hey. Is there a stupid-faced boy about my age? Has obnoxious clothes? Wears lot of orange?"

"Uhhh. Oh! Yeah, I know the guy you're talking about. Blonde and short-tempered? Acts like a complete dumb ass?"

Sasuke nodded.

"Yeah. That's the one. Do you know where he is." It wasn't a question, it was a statement.

"He's at the top of the building….But you should be careful. He's not…" He looks left and right as if checking if anyone was there or not, before continuing, " _Normal_ that one."

"What do you mean? What makes him so special?!" Sasuke demanded, slamming a fist on the front desk. "Answer me!" The man behind him looked taken aback, but said calmly, "I'd tell you 'bout it, but...that is forbidden for me to talk about. I don't wanna break the three shinobi decree by tellin' ya….sorry."

' _What is so forbidden that no one can talk about it_?' Sasuke wondered. He wanted to know why it couldn't be broken. ' _Just...how strong are you now_?' Sasuke clenched his fist at his sides and his eyes darkened.

"Tell me where he is!"

"He's up the stairs at the top floor."

Sasuke walked upstairs and stopped at the second level where he found a door. ' _Geez. The deadlast could be dying right now! I have to hurry_!'

He found a door and opened only to find it unlocked and open. He saw two guys inside and took a step back.

"Uhh…"

' _Wrong one_ …' He closed the door and continued his search. He went to the top of the stairs to the next level where he found the next door and saw the one at the top floor. ' _So this must be where he lives_...'He tried to open the door, but the handle wouldn't budge. ' _Damn, the door is locked_!'

Sasuke knocked on the door. "NARUTOOOOOO!"

' _Damn...the door is still locked_!' Sasuke tried the handle again, but it was locked. He was beginning to feel impatient and was about to bust down the door, but then the door opened.

"Yeah, yeah. Shut up already." Naruto said lazily. He stifled a yawn and stood up from his bed and rubbed his eyes sleepily. 

' _Geez...you'd think a guy could get some sleep around here. Why would someone wake me up at this hour, anyways? And why would they want to'_? He briefly wondered. Whatever. The sooner he got to whoever was at the front door, the better.

Naruto grumbled to himself about 'idiots' and 'morons' before he opened his front door ajar. He was surprised to see a familiar face there already waiting for him.

"Uhh, Sasuke? What the heck are you doin' at my house in the middle of the night?" Naruto asked suspiciously. The guy hated his guts! Why would he come here?

"...............Oh." Sasuke's eyes widened when he saw Naruto there safe and sound.

' _So he is alright...humph_.'

"I thought something bad had...happened. Never mind." Sasuke shook his head and turned to leave. ' _I can't believe I came all the way here for nothing_...'

"Seriously? Wait, why were you here anyway? What? Were you worried about me or something?" Sasuke's hand twitched on the handle.

' _Yeah right! Like Sasuke would ever worry about me! When the heck did I get so nice to the guy_?!' Naruto thought to himself angrily. ' _I must be losing my mind! I oughta have my head checked for this_!'

Sasuke flushed furiously and flinched from his touch.

"Sh - Shut up!" Sasuke said angrily. "Who would worry about you anyway? Deadlast." Sasuke shook his head. "Whatever. You know what? Forget it. I'm leaving." He left without another word and closed the door behind him.

' _What a waste of time...I can't believe I got worked up over nothing...I knew it was stupid to think something was wrong with him. I mean….Itachi wouldn't come back. Would he_?' Would he, was the question? One he was not willing to answer.

He tried to leave, but he felt a hand on his shoulder. 

"What are you telling me to do? You come here to talk to me or something and then you say never mind and then you just go? God damn it, Sasuke! Make up your mind! Like, what the hell? What kinda guy does that kind of thing? Huh?!"

"Me, apparently." Sasuke sighed. "Good night, Naruto. You should go home." He turned to leave, but Naruto had a hand on his shoulder.

"What? Sasuke?" Naruto glared at him.

"I told you already! It doesn't matter anymore! I was just...checking in on you to make sure you weren't dead. That's all." Sasuke said, frustrated. "Now that you're alive, there is nothing more to say. No need to stay here anymore..."

Naruto let him go and grinned.

"Oh.hh..I guess that makes sense. Well, everything's gonna be just fine! I've got this all under control. Have a little more faith in me, Sasuke. I can handle myself perfectly fine whatsoever."

"Hmph. Whatever you say, loser..."

Sasuke sighed. He was regretting ever coming here. He can't believe how stupid he was for thinking something was wrong with Naruto.

"Forget this ever happened, all right? And what happened tonight was a one time thing. So don't even think about telling anyone - Kakashi and Sakura. You won't tell them a thing. Got it?"

"Yeah. Whatever." Naruto nodded.

"Good." When he left, Naruto laughed out loud to himself.

'Bwahaha _! I know he acts all tough but deep down inside the guy's a total softie_.' Naruto snickered to himself.


	4. 4.  Naruto's Comeback! Naruto vs. Itachi!!!

_**4\. Naruto's Comeback! Naruto vs. Itachi!!! (work-in-progress)**_

* * *

The two-man squad stood on the outer wall overlooking the village. Itachi saw the Fourth's head on the Hokage Monument and smiled.

' _If I fight Naruto now, this can quickly be resolved, but…I can't let the Akatsuki kill him right now_.' Itachi thought. ' _I can't let Kisame or Pain get his hands on him...'_ He glanced at his team mate 

"With the power of the Sharingan, I see one thing clearly." He stated. But even those words sounded empty to his ears. He saw hundreds - no, _thousands_ \- of flaws and plot holes with his plan. He had thought it through all night long.

This plan wasn't perfect. But it was the best he could come up with at the time. He had to - _somehow_ \- assuming they captured him, get him the hell out of there. If Naruto had the bijuu extracted out of him, he could die. But then again the Uzumaki clan was pretty powerful so there was a chance he could survive but it wasn't high. If Kushina Uzumaki was able to live through the first extraction, then so could he. And the fox demon was powerful. Even if they did get it out of him, what was Pain's plan to do with the Kyuubi afterwards? Bring about peace and a new world? As if. The Kyuubi would kill him _before_ that happened, that's for sure. It's not like they can control a beast as powerful as that fox demon. It didn't make any sense.

This could all go wrong - _anything_ could go wrong. But if he didn't try, Naruto Uzumaki's - and the whole world's - life would be in danger and he couldn't risk something like that. If he could only get Kisame out of the way and lie to their Leader or - or _say something_. Then everything could go easier. But had to figure out something before he handed Naruto's life to the shinigami.

 

"I don't know...the timing seems wrong to me. You sure we can't just kill him right now?" Kisame asked. "His death would be... ** _delicious_**!"

"No. No, Kisame. We cannot kill him. We will meet Naruto and capture him. Anyway, it was good we found him at Ichiraku's when we did. We couldn't cause a scene back there, but we can catch him now. It's nearing night-time, so...they should be off duty. No one will be able to stop us."

' _Now that I have cast my genjutsu...I should be able to use my Amaterasu soon…'_ Itachi smirked. _'The legendary sennin should be distracted for awhile...this will give us time to collect Naruto and go_.'

"Yes, we are unstoppable. The village really is pathetic," he told him, "It is pitiful the jinchuuriki will have to die."

"Yeah, well, it was bound to happen. Poor kid." Kisame said sympathetically. 

"Don't feel sorry for him, Kisame. It was for the best."

"I - I guess." Changing the topic before it could get out of hand, Itachi said, "I cannot believe the sennin fell for such an obvious booby trap, but no matter. The woman was simply...bait to distract the unsuspecting sage. But now that he is out of the way, we can focus on finding Naruto Uzumaki."

"Damn right! But...I heard the kid was - no,  _is_  pretty strong. The strongest jinchuuriki, in fact. How much are ya willin' to bet on that? Kukuku."

"Ah, but...it's said that every man has a weakness. So he is as not strong as he may seem. Don't let him out of your sight, Kisame. Be on your guard."

"Got it! C'mon! Let's chop off some bodies an' shit!"

Itachi face palmed. His partner was so cringy sometimes...

"Kisame. You're completely missing the point. I already told you. Now you need to listen to me because I am not going to repeat myself. We did not come here to fight, remember. Regrettably, this is nothing more than nonsense. Let's leave."

"Ohh. That makes sense. Sorry."

"Good. Now let's go."

"Yeah, let's get goin'!"

In a swish of speed, they left the wall.

* * *

"Our target is the "Kyuubi" inside Naruto, so to speak." said as they landed on their feet. They walked past the 

"The village isn't holding its own very well...we were able to sneak by inside the village undetected. How stupid are they? As if we weren't suspicious enough already! Even with these disguises, you'd think those guys would suspect us even a little." He gestured down to their clothing. "I mean, it's not everyday you see two men dressed in red cloud black cloaks."

"Yes, but I've cast a genjutsu on the guards at the front gate. The fools see an illusion of two Leaf nin passing by. But in reality, two Akatsuki are actually after their jinchuuriki. Everything is going according to plan..."

"Yeah...what you said, Itachi-san." Kisame agreed.

"Hold on!" someone said from behind them. The two turned around to face them and saw the newcomer.

"Halt! Who goes there?"

' _Ah...looks like we've got company_.' Kisame smirked. ' _I was waiting for a fight_. _Now it looks like I've got my chance.'_

"You are not Leaf nin." The jounin said. "Who are you?"

"Well, what do you know? Looks like you Leaf ninja are not so dumb after all." 

' _There's some slicing to do in this direction...I can't wait to get my hands on the sucker_!'

"You know, you don't know how lucky you Leaf jounin are. Now it's time to dance!" Kisame smirked. "Now I can kill you, Might Guy!"

Water came out of his mouth and formed two balls of water.

" ** _Water Style: Water Prison Technique_**!" 

"Guh!" With one hand, he had Kurenai trapped within the water prison. And the other, he had Asuma trapped in a ball of water.

"C - Can't...breathe...!" Asuma choked as he was drowning in the water sphere. Kurenai wasn't faring any better. She was going to die soon at this rate.

"Let them go!" Might Guy and Kakashi Hatake both shouted. Kisame smirked.

"No. I don't think I will stop. Not when I can torture your friends like this. Kukuku..."

' _No wonder why they call him the Monster of the Hidden Mist...He's not even human_.' Kakashi thought. ' _No normal ninja would get a sadistic pleasure out of torturing another ninja. I've got to do something_!' He swore. 

' _It's useless. I can't use Kamui right now_ ,' thought Kakashi. ' _I don't wanna overdo it_ ,' His hand went to his eye. He had no choice. 

"Guy!" Kakashi turned to Might Guy, and smiled from behind his mask.

"Yes?"

"I've got a plan! You attack him, while I handle this guy!" he gestured to the Uchiha.

"Got it!"

Guy knew what to do. He could use his Asakujaku and distract the enemy while Kakashi would attack from behind. 

Before they could get their plan in action, Itachi moved Kisame's hands and he let go of the two jounin.

"Stop, Kisame."

"What? But why?! We were just getting started!"

"Don't push it, Kisame."

"Fine..."

' _How boring. I was having some fun, too_.' He pouted, but did as he was told. Kurenai and Asuma came out of the water prison breathing heavily and coughing out water. They collapsed on the ground and were soaking wet. Guy and Kakashi hurried to their side.

"Wait a second...You guys all right?" Kakashi asked as he helped them up.

Kakashi turned to face Gai, Asuma, and Kurenai.

"Yeah." Asuma and Kurenai said.

' _Akatsuki_...' Kakashi glared at the two Akatsuki men angrily. "Kisame Hoshigaki. Itachi Uchiha..." He said.

"You know my name? I'm honored…" Kisame said with a smile. He had his hand on the hilt of his sword. "This is my 'seven way shinobi katana jutsu' my large katana the Samehada." He took a moment to stare at the ninja.

"4 Jounin and 2 S-class criminal nin….you Leaf ninja really don't stand a chance against us, ya know."

"Why did you come back to the village." Kakashi said mostly to the other sharingan-user.

"Simple. We want the jinchuuriki."

' _Jinchuuriki_?' Kurenai wondered. 

"You're after Naruto, aren't you? We're not going to let you through!" Kakashi said. 

"Why not? Is it because we big, bad Akatsuki are after your small, little jinchuuriki?" Kisame smirked, his shark teeth showing. "Give it up, Hatake. We're gonna get that kid and leave behind what's left of the village."

" _No_! I won't let Minato-sensei's son get captured by you Akatsuki on my watch!"

"Well, hate to break it to ya, but we will. As a matter of fact, we're going to right now." He made a move, but Itachi held a hand to stop him.

"It is foolish. I will handle this myself." He faced his old friend.

"Kakashi Hatake." He stated.

"Itachi." 

"I see you haven't changed. Still following the foolish village and their pathetic ways, I see." He nodded at the jounin jacket he was wearing. 

"Like you're any better. You became a traitor and betrayed your whole clan! You betrayed your brother Sasuke! At least I am not a piece of trash like you. Akatsuki scum." 

"Hn. Don't talk about things you do not fully understand. I massacred my village on a whim and nothing more to test my capabilities. And now...

...You will face your death!"

His eyes opened and activated the Mangekyou Sharingan.

' _His eyes_...!!!' Asuma stared in horror as the Uchiha's black eyes turned red.

"Whatever you do, do not look at his eyes!" warned the three elite ninja. But it was too late. All four jounin looked at his eyes and were put under a genjutsu. At that moment, Itachi fell to the ground. "Kisame!"

"Itachi!" Kisame hurried to his side and picked him up. Itachi's eyes were bleeding and his vision was blurry. "C - Can't see...very well..."

"No shit! I told you to relax, man! Your eyes are gonna go blind! Do you wanna go blind, Itachi? No?" Kisame asked, shaking his shoulders.

"My eyes...are fine. Do not worry about me, Kisame." Itachi helped himself up and stood up shakily.

"Your illness is going to kill you someday if you're not careful, Itachi-san..." Kisame's expression was sad. "You should relax a little."

"Shut up...We have to hurry. We're running out of time." Itachi said and the two looked down at the bodies laying limp on the ground. "Good. They won't move for awhile. And by then, it will be too late." He stated as he saw Kakashi's head lull to the side.

"You sure we can't just torture them a little more? Seems like a waste to just leave them here."

"No. We retreat for now. We are getting sidetracked. We need to finish our mission." He said, mildly annoyed.

"Alright. If ya say so." Kisame shrugged. He didn't really care either way. Alive. Dead. Did it really matter? Ninja were destined to kill or be killed.

"Just do what I say. Make sure Naruto Uzumaki is within my grasp. But don't hurt him too much. Your work is sometimes a bit...overkill." He said the last word as if he knew Kisame would if he wanted to.

"It's been decided, then."

* * *

"Come out of the room…Naruto." A foreign voice said outside his door.

Itachi knocked politely on the door. "Naruto-kun...come on out."

' _Geez, just how many people wanna talk to me tonight_?' Naruto sighs and walks to the door.

As he opens it, he sees two strange people standing in his doorway. The full moon behind them creates a soft halo of light outlining them. If it weren't for the the fact they were breaking and intruding, 

' _What the - ?! Eh? Who're these guys_?' He stared up at the guy with the red eyes.

' _That guy...looks a lot like Sasuke. He has the same eyes...the Sharingan! But his are...weird-looking_ …'

He felt a shiver down his spine. This - this weird feeling...what was it? It felt bad. He had a gut feeling that they weren't any good guys.

' _Just what do they want from me? Who are they_?'

"Uhhh...I don't know who you are or how you got here, but…Can I help you or something?"

The two men stared down at him.

"Kid has got some manners…" The strange shark guy said. "This'll be easy."

"Kisame…" The Sasuke-look alike said. He sighed and turned to Naruto. "Naruto, we're here on our own business."

"How...how do you know my name? Who are you guys?" Naruto looked between one or the other

' _Now I remember! This is Sasuke's brother! The man he wanted to kill...but why?! Why would he wanna kill this weirdo_?'

"You're an Uchiha, right? Are you Sasuke's brother or something?"

"Yes. I am Itachi Uchiha." Itachi lifted off his hat, showing his face. Naruto flinched and took a step back. Itachi took a step forward.

"Itachi…?"

"So you've already been acquainted with Itachi-san, huh? Then...I also need to introduce myself." The shark guy lifted off his hat, showing a blue shark face. "Kisame Hoshigaki. Now then, we have been properly acquainted. It's very important for us Akatsuki to capture you, boy."

"Our orders were to 'abduct Naruto'." Itachi explained. "The sennin Jiraiya won't save you this time. We have already placed a genjutsu on the woman he is with."

' _Those guys...they are after me. What's inside of me…Now I get why Sasuke wants to kill him_.' Naruto thought as realization dawned on him. He took a step back.

His hands subconsciously went to his stomach seal.

' _What is this thing anyway? This is the monster that attacked Konoha, right? That's why it's so feared and everyone hates it...that's why they want it right? To destroy Konoha?'_ He realized a little too late. ' _They want their hands on my Nine Tails…to try to destroy the village again...'_

Naruto shook his head.

 _'Yeah right!_ _Like I'm just gonna let that happen! My homeland will not get destroyed on my watch_!'

"We don't need him running away. Let's cut off a leg, shall we?" Kisame suggested. "I'll gladly shave a few layers off of you!"

He unsheathed his sword and Naruto closed his eyes - bracing for what was bound to happen, but then.

But there was none. The shark guy was held back by Sasuke's brother who had a hand on his shoulder.

"Kisame, stop. We will not kill Naruto. We will capture him and in a calmly fashion."

"Yeah, well. With this much trouble, it's unavoidable." Kisame sighed and sheathed his sword. "...Damn it. Looks like you're not gonna be missing an arm or a leg. Ah well."

Naruto gulped. ' _One wrong move and I could'a been dead meat by now_!'

' _I gotta be careful...these guys are way stronger than they look. Maybe if I play my cards right, I can get outta here without either of them noticing a thing_!'

"Let me go! You assholes!" he shouted, hoping the villagers would hear and save him.

"Kukukuku. Such big words from a small mouth. Why? Why can't I just cut off the kid's head? Then we can bring him back headless. Isn't that what Leader wants? His head on a golden platter?"

"Don't take Naruto so lightly." Itachi hissed. "We are here to catch him and go. Nothing more, nothing less."

"What the - better yet. Why not tear him into little pieces? He is the strongest jinchuuriki after all. He has the strongest tailed beast."

"What the hell? How do you know about me and Kurama?!" Naruto shouted in disbelief. _How had they known?_ No one besides himself, Pervy Sage, and the Old Man knew the name of the beast...so how had these strangers known about the thing inside of him?!

"Easy. The Kyuubi is inside you, no?" Kisame pointed at his stomach. "That's what we're after."

He made a move. But before he could manage to do anything, he heard a loud commotion outside. 

Itachi glanced at the door for a second before cursing under his breath.

"Kisame! Take Naruto out! It's time to get going." He said in a hurry. "They're going to come here any minute now..."

"Wait a sec…"

* * *

"This kid. He sure is annoying, no? Does he wanna fight?" Kisame challenged the boy who somehow hadn't pissed his pants at the mere sight of him. Any normal ninja would have been scared shitless by now. But the kid still had some fighting spirit in him somehow. If his determination was anything to go by.

"Annoying? Me? Hah! Like I'm gonna let you go without a fight!" The kid said.

"Heh. You're pretty brave, I'll give you that. You've got some attitude. Got a problem with us Akatsuki or somethin'?" Kisame asked.

"Please don't interfere with our affairs. You will only get captured." Itachi said calmly. Of course, that wasn't his intention, but...obviously he had to get the kid out of here now and then genjutsu his partner when he wasn't looking somehow and then make up some excuse to tell Pain. That was the plan, anyway. The one that he had made up on the spot. It could go well or...he might fail miserably. But whatever happened, he couldn't let Naruto get into's Pain's hands. Even if it cost him his life. He stared down at the boy who moved away from them. 

"...Itachi-san. This kid doesn't seem to like us. No?"

"Like you? Bah! I hate you and your stupid shark face! You're trying take me away! And I don't like that kind of thing!" Naruto said.

"You are asking for a fight. Kukuku. Any last words before I kill ya, weakling?" 

Kisame's chakra draining sword Samehada was a beast. Once he got a hold of the kid, he would have no strength left to fight. Any chakra he had would be gone in an instant. If the kid wasn't scared before, he had to be now. There was no escape.

Before he brought out his Samehada, the person beside him stopped him.

"For the last time. Remember why we are here in the first place, Kisame! Getting into a fight will draw Anbu black op attention to ourselves!" Itachi sighed heavily. 

"Mind telling me why again we shouldn't just kill the boy? He's too much trouble for his own good. The loudmouth will cause a commotion."

"We came here to look for something…we came here to bring the boy. But killing him would make it harder to harness the Kyuubi's powers...and without a vessel, that will be useless."

"What do you assholes want with me?" asked Naruto, thoroughly frustrated. He hated feeling like he had no idea what was going on.

"I suggest you stop having that attitude, kid. Or you'll live to regret it." Kisame gestured to his sword and Naruto shut up.

"We're after the Fourth Hokage's isan." Itachi said coolly.

"' _Isan_?' I ain't anyone's isan!"

"Pay attention, kid!"

Itachi continued. "As I was saying before I was interrupted -" He shot a glare at Kisame - who said " _What_?!" "-The Fourth Hokage had a newborn baby before he died. He sealed the bijuu inside the baby. Do you know who that child is, Naruto Uzumaki?"

' _N - No way... He can't mean...me_?' Naruto thought. He couldn't believe it. He had to be lying...right? This had to be some kind of trick! If he was trying to get him to come with him by doing this, well, it wasn't gonna work! He wouldn't fall for some trick that easily!

He shook his head. No way. He was not his son. It would make sense, but - but it had to be some kind of mistake! He wasn't his Dad!

"Yes, you are his son. Out of all the newborn babies he could have sealed. He chose you. Why is that? Who would he seal but his own flesh and blood?"

"No way...you're not serious, are you? You've gotta be kidding me. I mean. You're basically telling me that asshole is my **_DAD_**??!!" Naruto shouted.

"Yeah. Pretty much." Kisame shrugged. 

Naruto pointed at Kisame accusingly. "You're not helping, shark face!"

Itachi smiled a half smile.

"My mother was a friend of your mother's...Kushina Uzumaki, yes? You take after her maiden name? She was a good person before she died… Supposedly my mother was friends with her."

"Shut up! What do you know about my mom, anyways?! You don't know anything about my Mom! Don't talk as if you know her!"

Kisame had his head in a headlock in an instant.

"I suggest you listen, kid. Itachi-san is being nice to you. So you should be thankful you have all your limbs, kiddo. I could...slice you to bits!"

"Damn it, Kisame! Fighting is not the reason why we came here!" Itachi felt frustrated. 

"So, why the heck are you telling me this stuff anyways? It's not like you've got any benefit out of all of this."

"He does make a good point. Even I don't get what you're saying, Itachi-san. This kid? The hokage's son? You've gotta be kidding me."

"It is the whole truth. Now that there is no one to stop us, there is no point in not telling you. You are Naruto Uzumaki. Minato's son.

"Anyway, your mother is dead and so is mine. I suppose

 


	5. 5. Chaos and Confusion

**_5\. Chaos and Confusion (work-in-progress)_ **

* * *

 

"If you were facing me, Naruto, and not Kisame, then this would take no time at all." Itachi stated.

"Huh?! What the hell are you talking about?" Naruto asked, confused.

"My illusion jutsu ' _Tsukiyomi_ ' cannot be beaten. Only a sharingan user with the same blood as me can beat me."

' _Sa - Sasuke_.' Naruto realized a little too late. ' _What is this weird feeling? It feels like…'him_ '.' Staring at Itachi was like staring at Sasuke...

' _Look into my eyes, Naruto_ …' Itachi's black eyes transformed into blood red eyes. The activated sharingan wheel spinned three tomoe.

" ** _Mangekyou Sharingan_**!"

Naruto tried resisting the genjutsu and screwed his eyes shut.

" ** _This is the world of the 'Grasping Moon'. All of Space...All of Time...All Matter of being...Everything is under my control. Now for 24 hours, you will watch as the village breaks your so-called 'Will of Fire'_**."

"NOO!"

Naruto screamed as he was thrown into a living nightmare.

But it was too late. He had fallen for the Uchiha's trap.

 _The tricky bastard!_ He watched helplessly as the blue skies turned to a bleeding red sky. The moon was colored red and the clouds were black.

' _What the -?! What the hell is this place_?' He thought as he looked around the place. ' _This is so weird...what the heck is going on? What's happening_?'

He was walking through the streets of Konohagakure.

"Heeeeello? Anyone here?" He called, hoping to hear a familiar voice call back to him, but nothing.

' _Where is everyone? Where did they go_?' Naruto thought, sulking a bit. 

He went to the hokage tower where he thought . Maybe they were in there?

"There you are! I looked everywhere for you guys!" He said, relieved. 

The villagers looked at him and then looked away.

"H - Hey! Come back!" he called out to them, as they started to leave. 

He walked up to them, but they were still walking away. It's like they were completely ignoring him.

"Uh...guys?"

"Naruto Uzumaki." The Third hokage said. He was sitting at his desk while smoking his pipe.

"Old Man! You're alive?"

"No one will respect you!"

"Who would want to be friends with you?"

"Freak!"

"Monster!"

"Stay away from him! He is the demon fox!"

"Stop...STOP IT!" Naruto shook his head out of the thoughts. 

"No...No...this can't be happening right now! Someone, help me! Get me outta here!"

Sakura, Sasuke, and Kakashi came to him through the crowd.

"Huh?"

"Sakura-chan! Sasuke! Kakashi-sensei! Hey, can you guys get me out of here? I don't know what's wrong with the villagers, but -" he was cut off by his friends ignoring him. "Hey, are you guys even listening to me?!"

"You're not worth our time." Sakura said. "Do you honestly think anyone will like you after what you told us?"

"Sa - Sakura-chan..." He said, hurt. He had long ago given up on his crush for her, but it still hurt to hear that from his best friend.

"The truth is, we cannot help but not hate you now that we know what you are. Even Hinata does not like you anymore. We hate the Kyuubi. Naturally, we don't want to be your friend anymore."

"N - No way. Guys, you don't really think that...do you?"

"You told us the truth. You told the village that you were the Kyuubi." Kakashi said. "Because of that, we have no reason to hang out with you. And, likewise, you have no right to talk to us as if we're friends."

"Who would want to be friends a monster like you?" Sasuke said and Naruto suddenly heard the **_Bzzt! Bzzt! Bzzt_** and the chi chi chi sound like a thousand birds charging towards him. He charged a chidori through his chest. 

"I hit your left lung, but it was pointless. Soon you and the demon inside of you will bleed out and die. As it should be." 

He collapsed down to the ground and Sasuke left him to die.

"N - No..." He couldn't believe it. This couldn't be real, could it? It felt like was for nothing. Was this the end? Would he die like this? Before he could even fulfill his dream?

"Let's face it, you will never become the hokage." Sakura said in a strange cruelty kind of voice. 

"This is goodbye, demon. Now die." said Kakashi.

"Hey, you guys. Wait a second!"

"I can't believe you," said Sakura, "You lied to us! I - we thought you were our best friend! But the whole time you were a monster! You - You're such..." She clenched her fists. "I hate you! I hope you die because you don't belong here! You don't belong anywhere, you scum! I hope you burn in hell!

"N - No..." said Naruto in disbelief.

They left him there and he was bleeding. He was going to die, soon.

"Nothing hurts more than to be betrayed by your own best friend, right?" asked a voice somewhere in the darkness.

"Huh?" Naruto turned around 

"Who are you?"

' _And why do you sound like me_?' He thought.

What came out of the darkness was none other than Naruto himself.

' _What? Me_?' thought Naruto. ' _But...how? I'm right here! That's impossible_!'

"You had that happen to you...when Sasuke turned traitor on you at the Valley of the End." A vision of Sasuke punching him through the chest crossed his mind.

 "So, what? What does that have to do with anything?

He could hear him chuckling.

"Hey, answer me!"

"That pain...to lose something fragile like a bond...to have it break into a million pieces...to have it broken..."

He thought back to the broken glass picture frame of the Uchiha family.

"That's how Sasuke felt. And that's how you felt, as well."

 "I - Itachi?!" The Naruto clone turned into Itachi's true form. "What?! You're Itachi?"

"Hn. So you figured it out. I'm impressed." said Itachi with a small smile, his red eyes never leaving Naruto's blue ones.

 

"What're you getting at? You're the one behind this, aren't you?!" Naruto accused. "Whatever you're trying to do, stop it! Take me back to the real world right now!"

"Not so fast. First, I have some business to do with you first for a few more hours."

He glanced at the red moon, shadowed by the dark black clouds.

"After all, the Tsukuyomi lasts for 24 hours..."

He snapped his fingers and before Naruto could react, he had kunais, shuriken, senbon a stuck to his body like Zabuza did back in the Land of Waves. 

The pain was unbearable.

' _This is it. This is the end_.' 

"I - I knew it...you really are a monster."

' _Am I really gonna die here? Die here without even becoming the hokage_?' thought Naruto helplessly

"I think the one who is a monster is you, Naruto." said Itachi. 

"D - Damnit...I can't forgive you...for this

"Yes, you should hate me." said Itachi. "Hate me like you did Sasuke. But spare him and hate me instead in his place.

What I did was unforgivable.

"Do you want revenge on me, Naruto? After what I have done to you?

"Wha - What the heck are you saying?!

"What I'm doing to you is unforgiveable.

"When I killed my clan, my foolish little brother Sasuke wanted revenge, too.

Crows came down and clawed his eyes out

Blood came out of Naruto's eyes.

"AAAAAH!

 

* * *

 

He awoke to the real world to the reality.

' _What the - it felt like it lasted a day, but it happened instantly_!' Naruto's eyes widened. He glared at the two men.

"Why? Why can't you finish the job and kill me? Isn't that what you ' _Akatsuki_ ' bastards want from me? Huh?!"

"Kukuku. That jutsu can break down his spirit, right? I'm surprised his spirit hasn't broken yet. However, Itachi-san. You should be careful since your eyes can blind you, too. Kukuku."

"My - My eye!" Itachi had a hand on his eye and it bled.

"GUH! My eye hurts like hell?! What the hell?" Naruto held his head and Itachi held his.

"Kisame, what have we done?! We have to get out of here! Now!"

"What? But we just got here!" Kisame shot back.

"Don't argue with me, Kisame! The Anbu are here...there is no time to waste!" Itachi snapped. 

' _Alright! Sheesh. Don't you see how counterproductive this is? We could take him now_!' Kisame facepalmed. This new plan didn't make any sense! Why wait when they could take him now?! For being the smart Uchiha, he sure was stupid.

"Damn...and we were so close to catching that kid, too..." He clenched his fists. He sighed and turned to the object of their desires. "We'll come back to capture you, kid. Don't think you're off the hook just yet!" Kisame pointed at him.

"FISH FRY!" Naruto shot back.

"Shut up! Don't call me that! My name is Kisame of the Mist and you will do well to remember that, kid!" Kisame snapped.

"Oh, and so just so you forget…" Kisame pressed a pressure point on now ' _Naruto's_ ' neck hard enough to make him not remember.

* * *

"NARUTO!" Kakashi, Gai, Kurenai, and Asuma hurried to Naruto's apartment.

"Do you think - you know..." Kakashi shook his head.

"I don't know...but it's good we woke up when we did or we would have lost Naruto already."

"Thank goodness he's alright." Kurenai said, relieved. "Hinata would be depressed if he was kidnapped or was killed by those "Akatsuki" bastards."

"It's too early to say that he is all right. We can only hope Naruto hasn't gone already."

"Yeah...let's hurry. Who knows what could have happened." Guy agreed.

They waited outside his door and tried the handle.

"Hey, Naruto! Open up!"

But no one opened the door.

' _Damnit! I hope we made it in time_  - !'

Kakashi thought as he unlocked the door with a spare key Iruka gave him and entered inside the small apartment.

And there Naruto was, laying on the floor. He seemed to be in a comatose state.

"Get a medic! Quick!" Kakashi rushed to his side and studied the situation. It seemed he was alone ... he didn't sense any chakra signatures close by aside from their own.

He shook him, but he didn't stir from his sleep. He seemed to be undergoing a genjutsu like they had. But for how long, he didn't know. But he must've been under a lot of internal pain by the looks of it. But the question was - why would Itachi put him under the genjutsu and take tail and leave? It didn't make any sense. Didn't they say they wanted him and his Kyuubi? So then why leave him here?

Nothing was adding up and he needed some answers. "Hurry up!" He said to the jounin. Kurenai nodded and left with Gai in toe.

Asuma stood by him and lit a cigarette. "Is the kid all right?" He asked, puffing out smoke.

"Yeah...I hope so."

Kakashi placed his palm on a pressure point and felt a faint pulse. He didn't have a lot of experience in the medical field, but he could tell 

It seemed he was breathing at a normal rate. But even if he wasn't hurt physically, he could be suffering mentally. 

' _It's going to be all right. We will save you and keep you with ANBU at all times now. Jiraiya-sennin should be back soon with the new hokage and supposedly she is one of the three legendary sannin. So by then you'll have better security_.' 

'I promised myself I wouldn't let . 

"It's not 

"What? What are you talking about?

"I can tell you're blaming yourself. 

"

I thought you quit smoking?" Kakashi nodded at the cigarette.

"I didn't."

"My students are always complaining about my bad habits, but...I can't help it." He stared down at the slump form 

"Sorry. I've seen enough shit for one day...

"Think the kid is gonna 

"I don't know...

'Itachi placed him under a genjutsu...I hope it isn't as bad as I think it is.

"We should take him to the hospital when we can."

Asuma nodded and puffed out smoke from his cig.

' _We were too late_...

The Akatsuki left...

* * *

Bedridden

Basically it was all white

"Why is Naruto sleeping? Why are all the Anbu gathered here where he's resting? And why is the hokage here?" Sasuke wondered. He stared at the face of his sleeping teammate 

* * *

"Sasuke."

"Kakashi."

"I'm sure you are full of questions." said Kakashi.

"Obviously." Sasuke rolled his eyes. "So? What happened to him?"

"It's a long story." Kakashi scratched the back of his head sheepishly. 

"I'm all ears." Sasuke said. He had nothing better to do besides training, but Kakashi couldn't train him like this. He would have to wait until later. And if not, he always had Orochimaru to turn to.

"I've got nothing better to do...for awhile. So tell me. What is going on? What the hell happened to that idiot loser?" He asked calmly, though inside he was frustrated. He felt rage at the thought that 

Kakashi sighed.

"What we say does not leave this room. Got it?" His expression turned to serious.

Sasuke nodded.

"You can't tell anyone - and I mean anyone about

Not even Sakura.

I'm not supposed to be the one to tell you, but...

"The Akatsuki are after Naruto."

" _What_?! Why?!"

' _That's - that's the organization my brothers works for, but...what has that got to do with Naruto? Why would they want him_?'

"They are after him, Sasuke."

Sasuke shook his head. "I don't get it... why are they after him? What does my brother want with him?"

"The rest, well, only the new soon-to-be hokage can tell you. But the hokage is dead, but the next one...well. Hmm.

There is a reason why this is S-class top secret information. The next generation is not supposed to know, but...the generation before back when the Nine Tailed Fox attacked...my generation. Well, we are forbidden to talk about it. About what the Akatsuki are after." Kakashi said vaguely

' _Hmph. How helpful_.' Sasuke crossed his arms over his chest.

"Yeah, but...what? What? I know you know I know Naruto has something wrong with him. But what is it? Why won't you tell me? 

Forgive me, Sasuke...One day you will understand, but...for now we will protect Naruto at all costs."

"So you're saying you won't tell me a damned thing?! I have the right to know! I am his teammate! Sakura would tell you the same thing if she were her."

Sasuke said outraged. He hadn't felt like this in a long time. 'Naruto, Naruto, Naruto'. Why was everything . What was so special about him?! And why 

I could have been

"Relax. Sasuke. It's not your fault. Do not blame yourself."

What is he had died? No one would care, huh

"I'm going to figure out this myself. If you won't tell, I'll beat some answers out of that dobe.

 

* * *

 


End file.
